EAU CLAIRE - The UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team pulled away in the second half to defeat UW-Superior easily tonight 76-57.

The victory gives the Blugolds a 9-7 overall record and a 2-6 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) record. The loss drops the Yellowjackets to 4-12 overall and 0-8 in WIAC-play.

The Yellowjackets started out the game very well and a 7-0 run by the Yellowjackets extended a two-point lead to nine with 13:34 remaining in the first half. That lead would stretch to as much as 10 with 9:33 to go in the half.

Over the next four minutes, however, the Blugolds would outscore the Yellowjackets 15-2 and take the lead for good after a Matt Riley (Jr.-Cadott, WI) three-pointer. The Blugolds would go into halftime with a 38-31 lead after outscoring the Yellowjackets 25-8 the final nine minutes of the first half.

The Blugolds shot 50% in the first half, while the Yellowjackets shot just 46%. The Blugolds were 5-of-11 in the half from beyond the arc.

The Blugolds would continue to add on to the lead at the beginning of the second half getting the lead to as much as 17 with 16:23 remaining. UW-Superior would only get as close as 14 the rest of the way and the Blugolds would have their biggest lead of the game of 23 with 3:07 to go. The Blugolds would roll to victory 76-57. Every Blugolds member saw action in the victory.

The Blugolds shot 49% for the game and finished the game with 10 three-pointers. The Blugolds defense also played very well, forcing 22 Yellowjacket turnovers and holding conference leading scorer Leonard Cobb below his season average.

Four Blugolds finished in double-figures in scoring. Jared Bardon (So.-DeForest, WI) led all scorers with 16 points. Zack Ryan (So.-Lake Elmo, MN/Tartan) had 13 points, Dan Beyer (So.-Waukesha, WI/Catholic Memorial) had 12 points, and Dan Ottney (So.-Glenwood City, WI) added 10. Matt Riley led the Blugolds in rebounds with seven.

Up next the Blugolds will begin the second half of the conference schedule as they will travel to UW-La Crosse to face the Eagles on Saturday. The Eagles defeated the Blugolds earlier this season 64-58. The tip-off is scheduled for approximately 5 p.m. following the women's game.

Eau Claire-Superior Box Score

- JR -