La Crosse, Wis. - The Viterbo University Men's Basketball team earned a share of the Midwest Collegiate Conference championship Saturday as the team beat William Penn University 75-63 in their regular season finale. The conference championship is the first since 1998 as the V-Hawks have earned the number two seed in the playoffs.

The four seniors whom Viterbo honored before the game made it a point to end their regular season on a high note. Each senior played a huge role in the victory as Eric Ambrose (Sr. - Twin Lakes, Wis.) led the V-Hawks in scoring with 18 points and also collected 10 rebounds. Also recording a double-double was Nick Stilwell (Sr. - Portage, Wis.) who scored 13 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Failing to record a double-double for the first time in 16 games was Scott Buschman (Naperville, Ill.). Buschman contributed 16 points and pulled down eight rebounds as his high intensity helped lead the V-Hawks. Despite scoring just four points, Tyler Hanold (Sr. - Richland Center, Wis.) played 19 crucial minutes as his driving abilities created numerous open shots and played stingy defense.

Viterbo saw a bit of a scare when Kris Miller of William Penn scored seven consecutive points for the Statesmen to start the second half as they pulled to within three. With the score 36-33 in favor of the V-Hawks, Viterbo went on a 15-9 run as Miller went down with an ankle injury and never returned to the game.

The V-Hawks maintained their intensity and put a seal on the game as Ryan Ambrose (Sr. - Jr. - Twin Lakes, Wis.) hit a three pointer from the corner giving Viterbo a 63-50 advantage. Solid team defense and unselfish offense helped maintain the lead for the V-Hawks as they went on to the 75-63 win over the Statesmen.

Miller's 21 points led the Statesmen in the losing effort as he finished 9-17 from the field. Also scoring in double figures for William Penn was Nick Coffey with 15 points and Joel Stout who added 11 points.

The V-Hawks finished 29-69 (42.0%) from the field including 6-18 (33.3%) from three point range. William Penn went on to shoot 25-66 (37.9%) from the field and just 5-25 (20.0%) from behind the three point line. Viterbo held a 47-39 rebounding edge while also committing four less turnovers (16-12).

With the win, the V-Hawks finish the regular season 13-14 overall with an 11-5 MCC record. The loss drops the Statesmen to 20-10 overall and 9-7 in the MCC. The V-Hawks will host the #7 seed, Waldorf College, on Wednesday night at 7:00 pm in the MCC quarterfinals.