LA CROSSE, Wis. -- North Park Men's Basketball looked to get in the win column at UW-La Crosse on Saturday evening, a team that received votes in the D3Hoops.com Preseason National Top 25 Poll. Unfortunately, things went awry as the Vikings suffered another stinging loss.
The Vikings looked to build off some big performances in their last game against No. 15 Wisconsin Lutheran College from transfer seniors Rico Powell (20 PTS), John Gaines (15 PTS), and senior Davante Robinson (14 PTS).
The first half was led by senior Kyren Gardner with 6 points, as Powell and junior Tristan Arneaud had 5 points each. The Vikings couldn't seem to find an answer for a La Crosse offense that was clicking on all cylinders behind a 13-point first half from Dustin Derousseau for the Eagles. La Crosse shot 57% from the field, held the rebound and assist advantage through the first half, as well as tallying five blocks and an 11-4 fastbreak point advantage. The Vikings went into halftime down 46-26 needing to find answers quick.
North Park couldn't stop the bleeding through the second half as the Eagles continued to apply pressure on the Vikings and the Vikings posted their lowest score total of the season with 62 points. The Eagles had four players in double figures, including 21 from Dustin Derousseau who was 10-13 from the field. JJ Paider had a double-double with 11 points and 14 of the Eagles' 55 rebounds.
For North Park, Powell, Gardner, and Arneaud were the leading scorers for North Park with 11, 12, and 13 respectively. Wisconsin La Crosse went on to win, 91-62, and North Park fell to 0-2 on the season.
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On the bright side, the Vikings will have four-straight home games to try and find a rhythm before conference play begins in the first week of December against Carroll University.
