The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men’s basketball team defeated UW-Eau Claire in the semi-final round of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) tournament on Wednesday, Feb. 26 by a score of 69-55. Sam Greiger had 21 points and five rebounds in the victory. Dustin Derousseau contributed 14 points and six rebounds. JJ Paider had a team-high three assists in addition to 12 points and seven rebounds. Khris Green was a key contributor off the bench for the Eagles in the victory, scoring nine points of his own.
Defensively, Greiger and Derousseau both had two blocks. Greiger had three steals, while Derousseau and Karter Thomas both had two.
The Eagles shot 41.3% (26-0f-63) from the field in the contest. The game marked the Eagles’ first post-season win since 2022, and the first win of J.T. Gritzmacher’s career as the head coach of the UWL men’s basketball team. In addition to the win, Gritzmacher celebrated his birthday with a post-game birthday serenade from several UWL football players who attended the game.
The Eagles are scheduled to travel to UW-Platteville on Friday, Mar. 1 where they will compete for the WIAC title fight and an automatic bid to the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division III national tournament.
The full box score and game recap from the contest can be found on the UWL Athletics website and information about the official WIAC tournament can be found on the WIAC website.
