LA CROSSE, Wisconsin – The Ripon men's basketball program got 59 combined points from Cade Tackmier, Luke Meinholz and Kolby Williams, but the Red Hawks could not overcome #20 UW-La Crosse in an 86-74 defeat to the Eagles on Saturday afternoon inside Mitchell Hall.
 
With Meinholz's first and only steal of the afternoon, the senior became the second player in program history to record 200 steals, joining David McMullen (2003-07). Meinholz is now 12 steals away from becoming the school's all-time career steals leader.
 
STANDOUT HAWKS

• Senior guard Cade Tackmier led all scorers with a career-high 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting. He made five three-pointers and also had seven rebounds with three assists in 39 minutes.
• Senior guard/forward Luke Meinholz contributed 20 points, five rebounds and four assists.
• Junior forward Kolby Williams added 11 points, three rebounds and two blocks.
• Sophomore guard Seth Bunders tallied nine points and five rebounds.

PLAY-BY-PLAY
Ripon's offense took a few moments to get going, as the Red Hawks were kept off the scoreboard until Williams made a layup two minutes and 20 seconds in. After Tackmier scored to even the game at 13 apiece, the Eagles rattled off 13 consecutive points in a two-plus minute stretch to open up a double-digit lead. Five consecutive points gave UWL (7-2) a 31-15 advantage with 7:16 left in the half, its biggest lead thus far. La Crosse's largest lead of the stanza was 19 (41-22), and though Ripon (4-6) clawed back to trim its deficit to 12, the Eagles took a 48-34 lead into half.
 
The teams went back and forth in the opening moments of the second half. A triple by Williams brought Ripon within 11 at 50-39, but six consecutive points for La Crosse in the middle stages opened up a 66-48 edge for the hosts. The Red Hawks continued to battle, and an 8-0 Ripon run made its deficit 70-62 with 6:01 remaining in the game. La Crosse scored on its next possession, and Ripon only closed its deficit to single digits once the rest of the way in an 86-74 defeat.
 
KEY STATS

• Ripon shot 49.1% from the field (28-57) while La Crosse was a touch better at 51.7% (30-58).
• The Red Hawks were efficient from beyond the arc, making eight of 18 three-point attempts (44.4%).
• La Crosse had more made free throws (19) than Ripon attempted (14).
• The Eagles bench outscored Ripon's 29-11.
• JJ Paider led La Crosse with 22 points and six rebounds.

UP NEXT
Ripon has 10 days off before visiting UW-Whitewater on Tuesday, December 31 at 1 p.m.
 
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