LA CROSSE, Wis. - The Luther men's basketball team fell to the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse 82-51 in a non-conference game on Wednesday. The Eagles controlled the contest from wire to wire. The Norse were led by Andrew Lazinbat who scored 17 points. With the loss Luther is 3-5 overall and 0-3 in the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C). 

UW-La Crosse scored on their opening possession before Ben Gill answered for Luther with the layup at 18:25 in the first half. The Eagles began building their lead as the half went on. With 7:38 on the clock Gill passed it into Lazinbat who proceeded to knock down a three trailing 28-11. Lazinbat's three started the Norse on a 7-0 run before the Eagles pushed ahead again. UW-La Crosse led Luther 39-27 as the teams headed into the locker room. 

In the second half, the first five minutes were back and fourth with the Norse edging the Eagles 6-4. Later, UW-La Crosse built to their largest lead of 30-points with 6:05 left in the game at 72-42. Will Bockenstedt scored his first points of the season with a layup in the paint at 2:43 with the Norse down 51-76. The Eagles closed the game on a 6-0 run to defeat Luther. 

UW-La Crosse shot 44.4 percent from the field, 40 percent from beyond the arc and 60 percent at the line for the game. 

TOP NORSE

• Lazinbat set a season high for points with 17. 
• Aidan Bailey had eight points, 
• Randall Days, Dainel Webster, and Gill had six points each. 

UP NEXT
The Norse face their next A-R-C opponent on Saturday, Dec. 9 when they travel to Buena Vista. Tipoff is at 4 p.m. in Storm Lake, Iowa.