WAVERLY – No. 15 nationally-ranked UW-La Crosse held the upper hand in Friday's men's basketball matchup between 2022 NCAA qualifiers, taking a 66-48 win over the Rams at the Buzz Levick Tournament hosted by Wartburg College.
 
Sophomore Jayden Meeker netted 16 points in his return to the lineup, although it was otherwise a tough offensive night for Cornell, held to 30.6-percent shooting for the game.  
 
The Rams (1-3) will play in Saturday's consolation game at 2 p.m. against Concordia (Wis.). UW-La Crosse (4-0) advances to the championship to face Wartburg at 4 p.m. Saturday.
 
Meeker tossed in Cornell's first five points as the Rams gained early momentum, leading 10-6 after a bucket by Izic Mackey eight minutes in. UW-La Crosse took control with a 17-0 scoring run and led 29-21 at the break.
 
Cornell hung with the Eagles into the second half, getting within 37-34 on a Jordan Magnani 3-pointer with 13:36 remaining. UW-La Crosse answered with a 12-2 spurt to pull away.
 
Meeker was an efficient 5-of-8 shooting from the floor with a pair of 3-pointers. Zach Ingle also scored in double figures with 10 points. Magnani had six points, six rebounds and four assists. Meeker added five rebounds and three assists.
 
UW-La Crosse shot 57.1 percent from the field in the second half and outrebounded the Rams for the game, 45-31.