WAVERLY, Iowa – Wartburg men's basketball came up short in a second half comeback attempt today against the No. 15 University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. The Knights were defeated 87 to 76 in the Buzz Levick Tournament championship on Saturday, Nov. 19.
 
Scoring Summary

• First Half
  • Will Furman of UW-La Crosse scored the first seven points of the game for the Eagles as they led 7-4 just two minutes into the game
  • The Knights took their first lead after a three ball and layup from Jack Molstead made it 13-12 with 15:16 remaining in the half
  • After the Knights kept cutting into the lead, UW-La Crosse went on a run to take a 10-point lead with just over five minutes left in the half
  • Scores from Molstead and Keagan John helped keep the lead around 10, but right before the half the Eagles stretched the lead to 15 points
  • UW-La Crosse led 45-30 after one half
  • The Eagles outshot Wartburg 38.5% to 33.3% from three-point range in the first

 

• Second Half
  • The Eagles came out of the locker rooms still hot offensively and got out to a 9-3 run in the first three minutes to take a 54-33 lead
  • Marshun Williams scored six straight for the Knights to keep chipping away at the lead
  • Despite being down 20 with just over nine minutes to play, Wartburg continued to fight and cut the lead to as low as nine points with five minutes left to play
  • Williams and John both had big second halves offensively with 11 and 18 second-half points respectively
  • Despite big plays, UW-La Crosse was able to hold off the comeback attempt for a 87-76 victory
  • The Eagles finished the game shooting:
    • 50% FG (30/60)
    • 40% 3P (8/20)
    • 73.1% FT (19/26)
  • Wartburg finished shooting:
    • 45.5% FG (25/55)
    • 31.8% 3P (7/22)
    • 70.4 FT (19-27)

 
Top Performers

• Molstead
  • 23 points
    • 9/18 FG
    • 4/7 3P
    • 1/3 FT
  • Three assists
  • Three rebounds
  • One steal
• John
  • 22 points
    • 6/14 FG
    • 3/8 3P
    • 7/7 FT
  • Five rebounds
  • Two assists
  • One steal
  • One block
• Williams
  • 13 points
    • 4/9 FG
    • 6/9 FT
  • Team-high nine rebounds
  • One steal

 
Notes/Streaks

• Molstead and John were both named to the All-Tournament team
• The all-time series moves to 5-4, with Wartburg still leading
• Third game for Molstead with 23+ points
• UW-La Crosse bench outscored Wartburg's bench 24-3

 
Next Time Out
The Knights are back at home on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 7:30 p.m. for the American Rivers Conference opener against the University of Dubuque.