LA CROSSE, Wis. – The Wartburg College Knights men's basketball squad (5-4 overall) fell 86-77 to University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (5-3) on Sunday afternoon.
 
The Knights scored the game's first points when senior Cam Kickbush (Reinbeck) connected on a three-pointer off of a pass from fellow senior guard Jaran Sabus (Urbandale) to take their first lead of the game on their first offensive possession. They held on to the lead for game's first two minutes before UW-La Crosse's Josh Dahlke nailed a three-pointer to take a 7-5 lead with 17:43 left to play in the first.
 
Both teams played one another very competitively, as neither squad managed to lead by more than four points throughout the first half. The two teams went into the break with the Eagles holding a slim 37-36 lead over the Knights. Wartburg led UW-La Crosse in field goal percentage (50% - 48.5%) and free throw percentage (50% - 0%), but the Eagles connected on more threes (5-3) and converted on those treys at a higher percentage (41.7% - 37.5%) than the Knights.
 
Both teams continued to play one another closely throughout the second half until the Eagles began to break loose late. With 6:45 left in regulation, UW-La Crosse led Wartburg by two at 64-62, but an ensuing 8-0 run would put the Eagles up 10 (74-64) with 4:16 left to play. The largest lead the Eagles would attain would be 11 points with 2:51 left in regulation, which proved to be too much to overcome as the Orange and Black fell to the Eagles 86-77.
 
Leading the Knights in scoring was Sabus with 18 points on five of eight shooting (62.5%), including going a perfect eight for eight from the free throw line. Sabus pitched in an additional four assists and three rebounds in the loss. Three other Knights scored in double digits, as freshman guard Spencer Touro (Newhall) scored 17 points and went five for five on three-pointers (100%), senior center Josh Gehling (Dyersville) finished with 15 points and sophomore guard Max Smith Drahos (Cedar Rapids) scored 15.
 
The Knights and Eagles were dead-even on total field goal percentage (50%), but led UW-La Crosse in free-throw percentage (66.7% - 64.7%). The Eagles led the Knights in three-point percentage (44% - 38.9%).
 
The Knights will look to snap their current three game skid on Dec. 20 when they travel to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to face New England College in the first game of the Cruzin Classic.