UW-L Drops Conference Opener to Fourth-Ranked UW-Stevens Point

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, December 5, 2007

La Crosse, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's basketball team opened Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) play with a 76-61 loss to fourth-ranked UW-Stevens Point Wednesday night in Mitchell Hall. The Eagles fall to 4-2 overall and 0-1 in the conference while the Pointers improve to 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the WIAC.

It is UW-Stevens Point's 13th straight win over UW-L and 20th in the last 21 meetings.

The Pointers never trailed Wednesday night, taking a 6-0 lead. The Eagles trailed 12-11 with 13:07 left when the Pointers went on a 10-3 run to lead 22-14 with 10:16 left. UW-L later cut the lead to 27-21, but UW-Stevens Point finished the half on a 14-4 run to lead 41-25 at halftime.

UW-Stevens Point led by as many as 22 points in the second half, including 47-25 with 18:46 remaining. The Eagles cut the lead to seven points twice in the second half, including 60-53 with 7:32 remaining after an Andrew Haass three-pointer, but the Pointers scored 11 of the next 13 points in the game to lead 71-55.

Tony Mane led UW-L with 20 points on six-of-16 shooting, including five-of-nine from three-point range. He was three-of-three at the free throw line. Brandon Brown added 12 points for the Eagles while Chris Fehrenbach finished with 11.

UW-L shot 36.4% from the field, including 66.7% (10-of-15) from three-point range. The team was 11-of-13 (84.6%) at the line in the contest.

Jerome Wotacheck led UW-Stevens Point with 17 points and eight rebounds while Bryan Beamish recorded a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Khalifa El-Amin ended the game with 11 points. The Pointers shot 51.9% from the field, including 56.7% (17-of-30) in the first half. UW-Stevens Point was four-of-15 (26.7%) from three-point range in the game and 16-of-19 (84.2%) at the line.

UW-L returns to action Saturday, December 8 hosting UW-Eau Claire at 5 p.m. in Mitchell Hall.