WISCONSIN DELLS, Wis. – The Concordia Wisconsin men's basketball team opened play at the Wisconsin Dells DIII Invitational with a challenging matchup against No. 3 UW–La Crosse, falling 82-73 on Friday afternoon. The Falcons battled throughout and remained competitive against the nationally ranked Eagles.
 
The two teams traded baskets early, but UW–La Crosse carried a 40-32 advantage into halftime.
 
The Eagles opened the second half with a strong run, extending their lead to 51-34 and forcing a Falcon timeout. Concordia Wisconsin responded with an impressive surge, outscoring UW–La Crosse 16-3 over a 4:44 stretch to cut the deficit to six. During the run, the Falcons shot 5-of-9 from the field and capitalized at the free-throw line, going a perfect 6-for-6. Junior Casey Verhagen (Sheboygan, Wis.) paced the rally with six points, while the CUW defense contributed five steals.
 
Despite the late push, UW–La Crosse maintained its lead down the stretch to secure the victory.
 
Verhagen led all scorers with 24 points and added four assists. Senior Logan Landers (Cedarburg, Wis.) recorded his eighth double-double of the season, finishing with 22 points and 12 rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 at the free-throw line.
 
Junior Javanni Blackman (Milwaukee, Wis.) also scored in double figures with 13 points. Defensively, Jaden Guyton (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) tallied three of the Falcons' 10 steals.
 
The Falcons will compete in the consolation game on Saturday at 5 p.m., facing either Augustana or No. 8 Calvin.