UW-L Suffers First Loss of Season

For Immediate Release: Saturday, December 1, 2007

La Crosse, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season Saturday afternoon, falling 73-59, to the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) in Mitchell Hall. The Eagles fall to 4-1 on the season while the Tommies improve to 5-1.

St. Thomas never trailed in Saturday's contest, racing out to a 12-2 lead five minutes into the game. UW-L cut the lead to 17-14 with 9:25 left on a three-point play from Brandon Brown, but the Tommies went on a 13-2 run to lead 30-16. St. Thomas led 35-19 at halftime and it shot 73.7% (14-of-19) from the field.

UW-L trailed 46-27 with 15:11 remaining when it went on a 10-2 run to cut the lead to 48-39, but the Eagles could get no closer the rest of the game. St. Thomas led by as many as 19 points in the second half.

Tony Mane led UW-L with 20 points, finishing eight-of-20 from the field, including four-of-11 from three-point range. Nick Fredrick scored 10 points off the bench, going five-of-seven from the field. Fredrick also had a team-high seven rebounds.

UW-L shot 40.0% from the field, including 35.3% (six-of-17) from three-point range. The Eagles were five-of-11 (45.5%) at the free throw line.

Joe Scott led St. Thomas with 22 points, finishing eight-of-11 from the field, including four-of-five from three-point range. Lonnie Robinson totaled 11 points, five assists and four rebounds. The Tommies shot 55.8% from the field, including 66.7% (six-of-nine) from three-point range. The team was 19-of-25 (76.0%) at the line.

UW-L returns to action Wednesday, December 5 hosting second-ranked UW-Stevens Point at 7 p.m.