By JEFF BROWN
Of the Tribune staff

The Eagle men's basketball coach watched his team out hustle, out rebound, and out score UW-Whitewater -- the top-ranked team in NCAA Division III, according to one poll -- in the first half.

He then watched the Eagles build an impressive 11-point lead with 14 minutes, 35 seconds remaining. Then, just as he too many times before, he helplessly watched the Warhawks tear UW-L apart, minute-by-minute, point-by-point.

The end result was a 82-68 victory for the WSUC-leading Warhawks.

``We played 30 minutes of great basketball, then... Playing the No. 1 team in the country, and you actually have an 11-point lead in the second half and control of the game, then to totally lose it,'' Gross said, throwing his hands up in the air. ``It was a lack of discipline and control when we needed it the most.''

UW-Whitewater, which improved to 11-0 in the WSUC and 20-0 overall, reeled off 11 consecutive points to tie the game at 52-52 with 9:39 remaining. Graham Diemer scored five of his 11 points during the stretch, while James Stewart was just heating up.

Stewart, an unstoppable 6-foot-4 junior, scored 23 points and pulled down nine rebounds despite back spasms which began nearly a week ago.

``He's had lower back spasms since last Friday. He couldn't even bend over,'' Whitewater coach Dave Vander Meulen said. ``He can shoot without bending.''

UW-L's Ryan Eklund stopped purple rush with a 3-pointer for a 55-52 Eagle lead, ending a 5-minute, 15-second UW-L scoring drought. Whitewater, however, could not be stopped. The talented Warhawks zipped off eight straight points for a 60-55 lead, and never looked back.

``They came out and played us harder than we thought they would in the first half,'' Stewart said. ``Coach came in (at halftime) and got on everybody about rebounding and playing hard. We knew after we tied it (52-52), we would come out and take control.''

UW-L did a complete reversal in the final 10 minutes.

Whitewater was the team out hustling, outrebounding and outscoring the Eagles. UW-L simply came unglued when it couldn't -- or failed to -- muscle the ball inside, or hit its perimeter shots.

Freshman Paul Manchester continues to be impressive, hitting four of five field goals and leading the Eagles with 11 points in 16 minutes. Steve Tracy and Melvin Veasley added 10 points each.

``We valued the ball in the first half. Offensively, we executed extremely well,'' Gross said. ``In the second half we didn't take care of the ball. You can't give a team like that that many offensive opportunities.''

Gross, whose team fell to last place in the WSUC at 2-10, and 10-10 overall, held a 15-minute, closed-door meeting with his team after the game. The Eagles have five games remaining, and a chance to finish above .500 for the first time in Gross's five seasons.

``We've got to get out of this season with a winning record,'' Gross said.

UW-L Basketball Home Page
Rob's College Basketball Gallery
Rob's NBA Gallery
UW-La Crosse Football Home Page
UW-La Crosse Baseball Page
UW-L Athletics Home Page
La Crosse Tribune Sports articles.
Official NCAA III statistics Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Columbus Multimedia Player of the Week Awards
Division III News
College Hoops sites
NCAA Home Page
1995-96 Season Recap
Return to Rob's Home Page

Other Division III Pages of Interest

Other WSUC Schools