UW-La Crosse Falls In NCAA Men’s Basketball Sweet 16 Contest

**UW-La Crosse Sports Information contributed to this recap

FREDRICKSBURG, Va.--University of Wisconsin-La Crosse fell 73-68 to University of Mary Washington (Va.) in a sectional semifinal contest of the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship in Ron Rosner Arena on March 14.

UW-La Crosse completed the 2026 campaign with a 24-7 record and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second straight year. The Eagles won the WIAC tournament title for the first time in program history and posted their second-most victories.

In the first-ever meeting between the teams, UW-La Crosse took a 10-5 lead with 15:39 left in the first half on JJ Paider’s three-point play. Paider scored eight of the Eagles' first 10 points of the game. UW-La Crosse later led, 14-9, when Mary Washington (Va.) (27-3) went on a 13-5 run to take a 22-19 lead with 9:19 remaining.

Mary Washington later took a 34-25 advantage with 4:41 left, but back-to-back three-pointers from Sam Grieger and Devon Fielding cut the lead to 34-31 with 3:55 remaining. Kye Robinson's free throw with :09 left gave Mary Washington (Va.) a 41-33 lead, but Paider's layup at the first half buzzer cut the deficit to 41-35.

Trailing 46-39, UW-La Crosse used a 9-0 run to take 48-46 lead with 14:30 remaining. The Eagles took a 62-57 lead with 5:40 left on Dustin Derousseau’s layup when Mary Washington (Va.) went on a 9-0 run of its own to take a 66-62 lead with 4:06 remaining.

Mary Washington had a 69-64 lead with 1:51 left, but Grieger's two free throws with 1:31 remaining made it a two-point play. After a missed three-pointer by Mary Washington (Va.), Grieger converted one-of-two at the line with :53 left to make it 69-67. The Eagles missed another three-point attempt and Derousseau was fouled with :20 remaining. He made one-of-two at the line to cut the lead to 69-68.

Mary Washington made two free throws for a 71-68 lead and Grieger missed a potential game-tying three-pointer with :03 left.

Grieger led the Eagles with 23 points with Derousseau finishing with 20 and Paider 16. Grieger added seven rebounds and two assists, while Derousseau totaled five rebounds and three assists. Paider had a team-high nine rebounds and three steals.

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