A 3-pointer with five seconds remaining in overtime at Mitchell Hall ended the season Tuesday for the UW-La Crosse men’s basketball team and first-year coach JT Gritzmacher.
Trailing by one in the game’s final seconds, Jacob Walczak’s 3-pointer gave UW-Stout the lead, and Will Fuhrmann’s winning shot was blocked, as time ran out on the Eagles in the 93-91 loss to open the WIAC tournament.
Fuhrmann did hit a jumper with 10 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime for the fourth-seeded Eagles, and No. 5 UW-Stout’s game-winning shot right after was blocked by Jake Gross.
Off the bench, Austin Westra led UW-L (14-12) with 23 points in 24 minutes. He was 5-for-8 from the field and 13 of 17 from the free-throw line in a game that featured 16 lead changes.
Neither team shot particularly well, with the Blue Devils (12-14) going 46.3 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from deep (10 of 30). The Eagles shot 43.2 percent from the field and 27.8 percent from deep (5 of 18).
TOP PHOTO: UW-La Crosse senior Austin Westra drives during the WIAC opener at Mitchell Hall on Feb. 20, 2024, against UW-Stout (PHOTO: Jim Lund, UWLAthletics)