La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's basketball team earned a 75-61 victory over Hope College (Mich.) Friday night in Mitchell Hall in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III First Round.

The Eagles improve to 23-6 on the season and will host Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (Calif.) in the NCAA Division III Second Round on Saturday, March 7 at 6:50 p.m. The Stags advanced to the second round with an 84-60 win over Aurora University (Ill.) Friday night.

Hope (Mich.) finishes 18-10 on the season.  

The Flying Dutchmen opened the game scoring the first eight points to force an Eagles' timeout. UWL, ranked 14th on D3hoops.com and 13th in the National Power Index, responded with a 21-2 run to take a 21-10 lead. After cutting the lead to 8-5 on JJ Paider's layup with 16:17 left in the first half, Charles Howell gave Hope (Mich.) a 10-5 lead with a layup, but UWL went on a 16-0 run.

Dustin Derousseau's three-pointer with 13:53 remaining gave UWL a 12-10 advantage and the Eagles would never trail the rest of the game. Seven points from Sam Grieger and two from Derousseau made it 21-10.

Hope (Mich.) later cut the lead to 29-21 with 4:28 left on Brendan Cargill's free throw, but a 10-0 run by UWL extended the lead to 39-21. The Eagles took their largest lead of the game at 42-23 with 1:08 remaining in the first half on a Derousseau three-point field goal. UWL led, 42-27, at halftime.

Paider's three-point play with 18:27 left gave UWL a 45-31 lead when Hope (Mich.) used a 12-3 run to cut the deficit to 48-43 with 14:05 remaining on a Carter Bishop layup. The Flying Dutchmen trailed, 54-48, with 10:14 left after a three-play from Orion Yant, but Hope (Mich.) could get no closer the rest of the contest. 

Devon Fielding hit back-to-back three-pointers to give UWL a 60-48 lead and Jack Crowley's three-point field goal with 6:20 remaining extended the lead to 63-48. Hope (Mich.) could get no closer than 11 points the rest of the game.

UWL shot 39.7% from the field Friday night, including 30.4% (seven-of-23) from three-point range, and 78.6% (22-of-28) at the free throw line.

Grieger and Paider led the Eagles with 16 points each while Derousseau finished with 14 and Butler 10. Bauer totaled eight points and Fielding six off the bench. Grieger, Paider, Derousseau and Crowley each had seven rebounds. Grieger added a team-high five assists and two steals while Paider had two blocks. Derousseau finished with four assists.

Hope (Mich.) shot 34.8% from the field, including 10.% (two-of-19) from three-point range, and 57.9% (11-of-19) at the line.

Yant led the Flying Dutchmen with 22 points while Mims finished with 10. Yant added seven rebounds. Howell led Hope (Mich.) with nine rebounds.

UWL earned its first win in series history with Hope (Mich.). The Flying Dutchmen won the previous two meetings, including a 65-47 victory in La Crosse on November 20, 2015 and a 80-75 win in Holland, Michigan on December 3, 2016. 

UWL is making its fifth appearance in the NCAA III Tournament, advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight for the first time in school history last season. The Eagles are now 5-4 all-time in the national championships after Friday's victory.
 

UWL advanced to the Elite Eight last season with a 120-93 win over Greenville University (Ill.) in the first round, a 77-67 victory over St. Norbert College (Wis.) in the second round and a 72-65 win over Illinois Wesleyan in the third round. The Eagles fell, 80-66, to Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) in the Elite Eight.

UWL earned its first win in program history in the national tournament with a 90-86 victory over Heidelberg University (Ohio) in the 2022 first round. The Eagles fell, 65-56, at Illinois Wesleyan in the second round in 2022.

Making its first trip to the NCAA Division III Championships in 2006, UWL fell, 79-71 to Calvin College (Mich.) in the first round. The Eagles also appeared in the 2019 national tournament, losing 79-66 to the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) in the first round. 
 
 
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