LA CROSSE - The UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team was defeated tonight by UW-La Crosse by a score of 73-61.

The loss drops the Blugolds to 9-8 overall and 2-7 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). The victory gives the Eagles a 15-3 record overall and a 6-3 WIAC record.

The Eagles would lead the whole way in this one as La Crosse would jump out to a 14-4 lead at the beginning of this game and never look back. The Blugolds however wouldn't make it that easy for the Eagles. After falling down 14-4 the Blugolds would outscore the Eagles 10-3 over the next nine minutes to cut the La Crosse lead to three after a three-pointer by B.J. Vetterkind (Fr.-Mondovi, WI).

The Eagles would then extend their lead back to eight and would go into halftime with a 29-23 lead. The Eagles shot 52% in the first half, while the Blugolds shot just 32%. The Eagles were superior on the inside in the half out-rebounding the Blugolds 17-10 and outscoring UWEC in the paint 18-8.

The Eagles would extend their lead in the second half by as much as 13 with 13:51 to go. The Blugolds would then nip away at that lead and cut the lead down to 54-49 after a Dan Ottney (So.-Glenwood City, WI) jumper with 4:32 remaining.

However, that's as close as the Blugolds would get as the Eagles would extend their lead once again and they would hit eight free throws in final minute to go onto win 73-61.

Both teams shot well in the second half as they were both over 50%. The Eagles went 14-for-16 in the second half from the line and finished 17-for-20. The Blugolds shot well from the line also going 10-for-11 for the game.

Jared Bardon (So.-DeForest, WI) led the Blugolds with 14 points on the night. Zack Ryan (So.-Lake Elmo, MN/Tartan) and Dan Beyer (So.-Waukesha, WI/Catholic Memorial) each added 10 points for the Blugolds. Joe Werner led all scorers with 24 points for the Eagles.

Up next the Blugolds will travel down I-94 to face rival UW-Stout on Wednesday night. The action gets underway at 7 p.m.

Eau Claire-La Crosse Box Score

- JR -