For the first time in school history, The University of Wisconsin La Crosse Men’s Basketball team has advanced to the Sweet 16 of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division III Tournament after defeating the Greenville University Panthers 120-93 on Friday, March 7 and by defeating St. Norbert College on Saturday, March 8 77-67.
The La Crosse Center was the host of three matchups during the first weekend of the NCAA DIII Tournament. The venue hosted Round of 64 matchups between St. Norbert College (SNC) vs. Carthage and UWL vs. Greenville. The venue also hosted the round of 32 matchup between UWL and SNC.
Against Greenville, J.J. Paider and Will Fuhrmann both had double-double games. Paider’s 28 points and 12 boards led the team in scoring and in rebounds. Fuhrmann contributed 12 points and 11 rebounds in the contest. Dustin Derousseau finished the contest one assist and three rebounds away from a triple-double, contributing 19 points, seven rebounds and nine assists.
In the contest, the Eagles gained more than one third of the team’s points from the bench, led by Karter Thomas who put up 21 points and five rebounds. From the line, the Eagles made 24 of 32 attempts, with 19 of those free throw attempts coming in the first half. The Eagles’ 84% rate from the line in the second half helped the Eagles to put the Panthers away and keep control of the game.
Just 24 hours later, the Eagles took another shot at keeping the greatest season in school history alive, taking on the St. Norbert College Green Knights. The contest was close for most of the first half, with five lead changes occurring throughout.
However, the Eagles took the lead with 7 minutes to go in the first half and never looked back. The closest the Green Knights would come to victory was by six points, with 35 seconds remaining in the second half.
A significant reason for the Eagles’ success was the team’s 26 points in the paint, 14 of which were second chance points. Ten of those second-chance points came in the second half. The Eagles managed to score 15 points off turnovers and another 10 points on the fast break during the contest, helping to put the game away late in the second half.
With 18 seconds left to play, it became statistically impossible for the Green Knights to win in regulation. Off a pass from Derousseau, Paider and the Eagles ended the Green Knights’ 23-7 season with a dunk that made the arena erupt.
In the contest, Derousseau scored 21 of his 23 points in the first half, draining a career-high five three pointers. Thomas was the spark plug off the bench for the Eagles in the contest, scoring 13 and defensively contributing 2 steals. Sam Greiger contributed 16 points and 6 assists in the contest.
For the full recap of the Eagles’ success in the first weekend of the DIII NCAA Tournament, refer to the UWL Athletics website. For the official March Madness tournament bracket, refer to the NCAA DIII website.
The Eagles’ quest for the big dance continues on Friday, Mar. 14 against the Titans of #9 Illinois Wesleyan University at 7 p.m. at the La Crosse Center.
The venue will also be the host to #22 Wisconsin Lutheran vs. #17 Washington University-St. Louis (Mo.) on Friday, March 14 at 4 p.m.
