Box Score

LA CROSSE, Wis. – Wisconsin-La Crosse pulled ahead with 17 minutes left Tuesday and led the rest of the way, downing Augustana 74-63 at Mitchell Hall. The 24th-ranked Vikings dropped to 7-3 on the year, while the host Eagles improved to 6-3.
 
Augustana trailed 35-30 at halftime, but Dylan Sortillo (Bettendorf HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) hit a pair of three-pointers in the first two minutes of the second half and the Vikings took a 38-37 lead on a Pierson Wofford (Springfield Lutheran HS, Springfield, Ill.) bucket with 17:18 to play. UWL regained the lead on an Austin Fritz layup 20 seconds later and would hold it the rest of the way.
 
Back-to-back three-pointers by Kenny Finco and Ryan Kruser extended the lead to double digits (50-40) and it would eventually reach 16 (58-42) on a conventional three-point play by Sean Wheeler at the 10:32 mark.
 
Jacob Johnston (Erie HS, Cordova, Ill.) and Chrishawn Orange (Jacobs HS, Algonquin, Ill.) each hit a field goal and a three-pointer as Augustana trimmed the deficit to 60-55 with six minutes left, but La Crosse scored the next four and the margin wouldn't fall below seven the rest of the way.
 
The first half saw two lead changes and seven ties. A Brett Benning (Dakota HS, Davis, Ill.) three-point play gave the Vikings their first lead, 7-6, at the 14:33 mark. It reached five points twice on a pair of Orange buckets. Kruser tied it 15-15 with a trey at 7:12, but Sortillo extended the advantage back to five (20-15) with a fast break layup and a three-pointer.
 
Sean Wheeler's three-pointer capped an 11-5 run that drew UWL even at 26-all. The teams also deadlocked at 28 and 30 before Ben Meinholz drilled a three-pointer from the left wing and an Augustana turnover led to a Brendon Manning layup just before the halftime buzzer as the hosts took a 35-30 lead to the locker room.
 
Johnston led the Vikings with 16 points and six rebounds. Sortillo added 15 points and Orange 11. Augustana shot .434 (23-53) from the field and held the Eagles to .380 (19-50), but couldn't overcome a season-high 19 turnovers and a 36-32 deficit on the glass. La Crosse also hit eight of 14 (.571) three-pointers and 28 of 37 (.757) free throws compared to five of 16 (.313) and 12 of 17 (.706), respectively, for the Vikings.
 
Augustana is back at Carver Center on Friday, December 16, hosting Central with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m.