PLATTEVILLE - The UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team missed five straight free throws down the stretch en route to a 60-54 loss to UW-Platteville here tonight at Williams Fieldhouse.

The loss is the third straight for the Blugolds, dropping them to 10-7 on the season and 4-5 in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play. The Pioneers improve to 12-5 on the season and 7-2 in the WIAC.

The Pioneers started off with a bang, opening the game with 15-5 lead. The Blugolds responded with eight straight points to cut the lead to just two. With 2:43 remaining and the Pioneers holding a 27-23 lead, Eau Claire scored the final seven points of the half to take a 30-27 lead into the break.

The Blugolds played well in the first half, hitting 12-of-25 from the floor for 48 percent while holding the Pioneers to 10-of-27 shooting for 37 percent.

The game remained extremely close for the first seven minutes of the second half, but the Blugolds went cold from the floor and went more than six minutes without a point. The end result was a 10-point run for the Pioneers and a 52-40 advantage. The Blugolds cut the lead to nine and then to six but missed five straight free throws in crucial situations. The Pioneers converted on their attempts to earn a 60-54 victory.

Eau Claire finished the game just 10-of-18 from the charity stripe while Platteville was 21-of-26. The Blugolds shot 43.5 percent from the floor and held the Pioneers to 34.6 percent, but could not overcome the free-throw difference and a 37-26 loss in rebounding.

Dan Archambault (Sr.-Oshkosh/West) led the Blugolds with 19 points, 11 of them coming in the first half. Casey Drake (Sr.-Rhinelander) added 17 points in the loss.

Brad Reitzner led the Pioneers with 16 points while LeVon Crawford scored 15 and Sean Krause added 10.

The Blugolds will look to end their current skid this Wednesday when they host UW-Superior at 7:00 p.m. at Zorn Arena.

Eau Claire-Platteville Box Score

- DN -