EAU CLAIRE - The UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team came from 10 down in the second half to defeat undefeated and 14th-ranked UW-Oshkosh 64-54 here tonight at Zorn Arena.

The Blugolds went down 40-30 following a Titan three point play with 12:58 remaining in the game. Eau Claire then proceeded to go on an 18-0 run to turn a 10 point deficit to an eight point lead.

Casey Drake (Sr.-Rhinelander) keyed the run scoring 11 points including two three pointers and a three point play.

Dan Archambault (Sr.-Oshkosh/West) kept the Titans at bay the rest of the way scoring 12 of the last 16 Blugold points. Archambault scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half.

Eau Claire opened up the second half sluggishly allowing Oshkosh to go on a 15-2 run to open the second half. The Titans fired from everywhere hitting three three pointers in opening up the 10 point lead.

Both teams struggled in the first half as neither team shot above 30 percent in the opening stanza. The Blugolds held the Titans to only 25 percent shooting in the half but couldn't convert on numerous inside looks shooting only 26.5 percent for the half.

Oshkosh opened up the game with a 7-2 run before Eau Claire countered with a 7-0 run of their own to go up 9-2 in the early going. The teams battled back and forth for the remainder of the half with the Blugolds taking a 25-22 lead into half.

Drake led Eau Claire in scoring with a season-high 23 points while Archambault added 15. Buck Smith (Jr.-Superior) added his first career double-double with 11 points and a game-high 10 boards.

The Blugolds dominated the boards outrebounding the Titans 51-34 including 25 offensive rebounds despite losing starting power forward Dan Beyer (Fr.-Waukesha/Catholic Memorial) in the opening minutes. Eau Claire shot the ball well from the charity stripe hitting 20 of 24 attempts including 8 of 9 from Archambault.

The win improves Eau Claire's record to 2-1 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and 4-3 overall. The victory also snaps a 6-game losing streak to the Titans. The loss drops Oshkosh to 2-1 in conference action and 6-1 overall.

Eau Claire will be in action next when they travel to La Crosse to take on the Eagles Saturday. The game is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.

Eau Claire-Oshkosh Box Score

- JL -