Fredericksburg, Va. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's basketball team fell, 73-68, at the University of Mary Washington (Va.) in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Sweet 16 on Saturday night in Ron Rosner Arena.
The Eagles, ranked 14th on D3hoops.com and 13th in the National Power Index (NPI), finish 24-7 on the season. The 24 victories are second in single-season school history. UWL won a school record 25 games last season in advancing to the NCAA Division III Elite Eight.
Mary Washington (Va.), ranked fifth on D3hoops.com and fourth in the NPI, improves to 27-3 and advances to the NCAA Division III Quarterfinals on Thursday, March 19 in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
JJ Paider finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and three steals.
In the first-ever meeting between the teams, UWL took a 10-5 lead with 15:39 left in the first half on
JJ Paider's three-point play. Paider scored eight of the Eagles' first 10 points of the game. UWL later led, 14-9, when Mary Washington (Va.) went on a 13-5 run to take a 22-19 lead with 9:19 remaining on a Colin Mitchell three-point field goal.
The Eagles of Mary Washington (Va.) later took a 34-25 advantage with 4:41 left on Jadon Burgess' three-pointer, but back-to-back three-pointers from
Sam Grieger and
Devon Fielding cut the lead to 34-31 with 3:55 remaining.
Kye Robinson's free throw with :09 left gave Mary Washington (Va.) a 41-33 lead, but Paider's layup at the first half buzzer cut the deficit to 41-35.
Trailing 46-39, UWL used a 9-0 run to take 48-46 lead with 14:30 remaining. The Eagles took a 62-57 lead with 5:40 left on
Dustin Derousseau's layup when Mary Washington (Va.) went on a 9-0 run of its own to take a 66-62 lead with 4:06 remaining.
Jay Randall's three-point play later gave the Eagles of Mary Washington (Va.) a 69-64 lead with 1:51 left. Grieger's two free throws with 1:31 remaining made it a two-point play. After a missed three-pointer by Mary Washington (Va.), Grieger converted one-of-two at the line with :53 left to make it 69-67. The Eagles missed another three-point attempt and Derousseau was fouled with :20 remaining. He made one-of-two at the line to cut the lead to 69-68.
Dustin Derousseau had 20 points, five rebounds
and three assists.
Robinson was fouled and made both free throws for a 71-68 lead. Grieger missed a potential game-tying three-pointer with :03 left and Josh Sewordor made two free throws with :01 remaining for the final margin.
UWL shot 42.6% from the field, including 21.1% (four-of-19) from three-point range, and 70.6% (24-of-34) at the free throw line.
Grieger led the Eagles with 23 points with Derousseau finishing with 20 and Paider 16. Grieger added seven rebounds and two assists while Derousseau totaled five rebounds and three assists. Paider had a team-high nine rebounds and three steals.
Mary Washington (Va.) shot 39.4% from the field, including 30.3% (10-of-33) from three-point range, and 78.6% (11-of-14) at the line.
Robinson led the Eagles with 35 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. Sewordor and Kaden Bates each had seven points.
