UW-L drops No. 9 UW-SP, snapping 20-year losing streak

STEVENS POINT, Wis. — It’s been a good week for the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men’s basketball team.

First the Eagles took down 14th-ranked UW-Whitewater over the weekend. Wednesday, down went No. 9 UW-Stevens Point with a 61-57 win.

That snapped a 24-game losing streak at UW-SP in Quandt Fieldhouse. The streak dates back to Feb. 4, 1998. The Pointers had beaten UW-L the last five games, overall.

UW-SP (11-4, 3-2) came into the game having lost to the Nos. 2, 5 and 11th ranked teams in Division III — teams that were a combined 41-3.

The matchup featured four ties, six lead changes and plenty of scoring runs, including an 8-0 one by UW-SP to start the game. UW-L answered that with an 11-2 run right back.

Jumping to the end, with 1:07 remaining, senior Ben Meinholz put the Eagles up 58-53 with a 3-pointer. The Pointers quickly cut that to 58-57 with 32 seconds left with back-to-back baskets.

Down to 11 on the clock, Meinholz hit 1 of 2 free throws. UW-SP came down and missed the tying layup with 3 seconds to go.

Brett Tauber got the offensive rebound but turned it over and UW-L’s Tanner Bruchs ended the game with a layup at the buzzer.

The Eagles shot 48.9 percent from the field, 11 of 12 from the line but just 4 of 12 from beyond the arc. UW-SP was worse, shooting 37.3 from the field and 6 of 21 from deep.

Meinholz led with 16 points and added four rebounds and four assists. Taulvish McCray and Brendon Manning (pictured above) each scored 10. Manning also had 13 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season.

Nate Dodge, an Army transfer, led the Pointers with 18 points, which is his average. He came in No. 2 in the WIAC in scoring.

And, one last note, UW-L coach Kent Dernbach served as the associate head coach at UW-SP from 2011-17. He was also the interim coach for the last 13 games of the 2016-17 season, leading Point to an 8-5 record.