STEVENS POINT - The UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team shot only 26.7 percent in the second half in falling to 2nd-ranked UW-Stevens Point 83-55 here tonight at Quandt Fieldhouse.

Stevens Point shot well from the field throughout finishing the game at 52.7 percent shooting. The Pointers connected on 13 of 24 three-point attempts and saw Preseason All-American Jason Kalsow score a career-high 31 points.

The Pointers were hot early hitting 9 of their first 14 shots in getting out to a 24-9 lead. Eau Claire wouldn't let Stevens Point's hot start deter them as they went on a 10-1 run to close the gap to six at 25-19. The Blugolds wouldn't get any closer as they went into half trailing 40-27.

The Blugolds cut the 13-point halftime deficit to 11 in the early moments of the second half on a steal and lay-up from Will Jefferson (Sr.-Wausau/East). Stevens Point didn't let up going on a 14-2 run to put the game away.

Dan Archambault (Sr.-Oshkosh/West) led Eau Claire with 19 points. Casey Drake (Sr.-Rhinelander) added 15 points and Buck Smith (Jr.-Superior) 10. Drake pulled down a game-high six boards.

The loss drops the Blugolds to 5-8 in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play and 12-10 overall. Stevens Point improves to 10-2 in conference and 18-2 overall.

Eau Claire will be in action next when they host UW-Stout in their final home game of the year. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m.

Eau Claire-Stevens Point Box Score

- JL -