UW-L Picks Up First Conference Win of Season

For Immediate Release: Saturday, December 8, 2007

La Crosse, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's basketball team picked up its first WIAC win of the season Saturday night with a 64-49 victory over UW-Eau Claire in Mitchell Hall. The Eagles improve to 5-2 overall and 1-1 in the WIAC while the Blugolds drop to 5-3 overall and 2-1 in the conference.

UW-L led by as many as five points in the first half, including 29-24 at halftime. UW-Eau Claire had 10 turnovers in the first 20 minutes of action.

The Eagles started the second half on an 18-5 run to lead 47-29 with 9:00 remaining and the Blugolds could get no closer than 12 points the rest of the game.

Tony Mane led UW-L with 22 points, going seven-of-15 from the field, including two-of-seven from three-point range. He hit all six of his free throw attempts and added six rebounds. TJ Nereng scored 13 points off the bench for the Eagles, going five-of-nine from the field, including three-of-five from three-point range.

Brandon Brown finished the contest with eight points, five assists and three steals while Chris Fehrenbach added six points and Billy Kegler five.

UW-L shot 41.2% from the field, including 43.8% (seven-of-16) from three-point range. The Eagles were four-of-seven (57.1%) from three-point range in the second half. UW-L was 15-of-18 (83.3%) at the line in the game, including 11-of-14 (78.6%) in the second half.

Dan Beyer led UW-Eau Claire with 18 points, going eight-of-14 from the field and two-of-two at the line. He also had six rebounds. Ryan Shea added 11 points for the Blugolds while Geoff Probst finished with six points and a game-high eight rebounds.

UW-Eau Claire shot 40.4% from the field, but missed all 10 of its three-point attempts. The Blugolds were 11-of-18 (61.1%) at the line.

UW-L returns to action Wednesday, December 12 hosting Carleton College (Minn.) at 7 p.m.