Smith Leads UW-Superior to Victory over UW-La Crosse

For Immediate Release: Saturday, January 5, 2008

Superior, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's basketball team fell 71-61 at UW-Superior Saturday afternoon. The Eagles drop to 6-6 overall and 1-2 in the WIAC while the Yellowjackets improve to 5-6 overall and 1-2 in the conference.

Jake Smith led UW-Superior with 28 points Saturday, finishing 13-of-16 from the field, including two-of-three from three-point range. He also finished with six rebounds. Smith scored 18 first half points.

The Yellowjackets shot 58.3% (14-of-24) from the field in the first half to lead 35-32 at intermission. UW-L led by as many as four points in the first half before UW-Superior came back to take a three-point halftime lead on Dwight Hill's three-pointer with :27 left.

UW-Superior never trailed in the second half, taking a 44-35 lead with 16:06 remaining. The Eagles went on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 44-42, but could get no closer. The Yellowjackets led 61-56 with 6:47 left before scoring the next four points to lead 65-56 with 2:25 remaining. UW-Superior made all six of its free throw attempts in the final :49 to secure the victory.

Chris Fehrenbach scored a season-high 31 points for UW-L, finishing 12-of-25 from the field, including six-of-18 from three-point range. The 18 three-point attempts broke the single-game school record of 16 set by Corey Block versus UW-Whitewater December 10, 1988. Fehrenbach also hit his only free throw attempt Saturday and added four rebounds. Billy Kegler added 11 points off the bench for UW-L while Tony Mane and Andrew Haass each finished with six.

UW-L shot 38.3% from the field, including 26.5% (nine-of-34) from three-point range. The 34 three-point attempts is tied for second in school history. The Eagles were also six-of-eight (75.0%) at the line.

Dwight Hill added 18 points, seven assists and five rebounds for UW-Superior. The Yellowjackets shot 50.9% from the field, including 41.2% (seven-of-17) from three-point range. The team was 10-of-11 (90.9%) at the free throw line.

UW-L returns to action Wednesday, January 9 hosting UW-Whitewater at 7 p.m.