EAU CLAIRE - The UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team scored just 11 points in the first half on 4-of-25 shooting and could not rebound in a 59-42 loss to UW-Platteville here today at W.L. Zorn Arena.

The loss ends a six-game Blugold win streak and drops their record to 9-4 on the season and 3-2 in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play. Eau Claire had not lost a game since December 4 against Stevens Point prior to today's defeat. The Pioneers improve to 8-5 on the season and 3-2 in the WIAC.

Things looked bad for the Blugolds right from the get-go as they were held scoreless for more than four minutes to start the game. The Pioneers scored the first five points of the game and never trailed the rest of the way. While the Blugolds shot just 16 percent from the floor in the first half, including 0-for-5 from three-point range, the Pioneers continued to add to their lead. At the end of the first half the Blugolds looked up at a 28-11 deficit.

Eau Claire played much better in the second half but it was not enough to overcome their first half woes. The Blugolds started the second half on a 4-0 run to cut the lead to 13 points but it was the closest they would come.

Casey Drake (Sr.-Rhinelander) led Eau Claire with 18 points and was the only Blugold with more than six points. Buck Smith (Jr.-Superior) grabbed a team-best nine rebounds in the loss.

Brandon Temperly paced the Pioneers with 18 points while also leading the team with nine rebounds. LeVon Crawford finished with 10 points while Mark Gossens finished with seven points and eight rebounds.

The Blugolds finished 17-of-50 from the floor for 34 percent while Platteville hit 19-of-43 from the field for 44.2 percent.

The Blugolds will look to start a new win streak Tuesday when they head to Whitewater to battle the Warhawks. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. in Whitewater.

Eau Claire-Platteville Box Score

- DN -