SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse staged a rally late in regulation to force overtime and then overcame a clutch three-pointer at the end of the first extra session to claim a hard-fought 83-81 double-overtime win over Marian College in the first semifinal game of the Charles B. Zimmerman Memorial Classic, hosted by Wittenberg University.
The win moved Wisconsin-La Crosse to 6-4 on the season, while Marian fell to 6-6. The Eagles advanced to the tournament championship game, scheduled for 7:45 p.m. Saturday, against the winner of the Wittenberg vs. Olivet game. The Knights will play in Saturday's consolation game at 2:45 p.m.
There were six lead changes and a whopping 10 ties in this game as neither team held more than a 10-point advantage. The game was deadlocked at 34 at the end of the first half, 71 at the end of regulation and 77 at the conclusion of the first overtime.
Wisconsin-La Crosse held a 45-23 rebounding advantage and shot 54 percent from the field, compared to 42 percent for Marian. But the Knights hung in there by making two more three-pointers and hitting 22-of-30 free throws, compared to 8-of-12 for the Eagles. In addition, Marian was charged with 10 turnovers, compared to 20 for UW-La Crosse.
Marian led by as many as 10 points in the early portion of the first half before UW-La Crosse stormed back to tie it at 24 with 7:38 remaining. The Knights got the best of things in the early going in the second half as well, leading by as many as nine on three different occasions before a lay-up by UW-La Crosse's Tony Mane tied the game with just 19 seconds left.
The Eagles had the advantage in the first overtime, but Mane couldn't close the door as he missed a free throw with 14 seconds left and Marian's Derek James drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key to send the game into a second overtime. In the final five minutes, the two teams were knotted up at 81 before UW-La Crosse knocked down a short jumper with just two seconds remaining to give the Eagles the win.
Mane led the victors with 27 points as he played all 50 minutes in the game. Austin Scott added 16 points, while Andrew Haass came off the bench to contribute 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Marian was paced by Tyler Kleinschmidt with 24 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, in addition to four assists and three steals. Jordan Tucker hit six three-pointers to finish with 19 points, while Brandon Buscher chipped in with 11 points and James added 10 points while also playing the entire 50 minutes.