EAU CLAIRE - The UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team used a 16-0 run in the second half to pull away and defeat St. Scholastica (MN) tonight by a score of 72-60 in Zorn Arena.

The win improves the Blugolds to an overall record of 5-3 and extends the winning streak to three. The loss drops the Saints to a record of 3-6. The Blugolds remain undefeated against St. Scholastica with a perfect 9-0 record.

Eau Claire got off to a good start in the game, pulling out to a 9-2 lead after a Geoff Probst (Fr.-Moose Lake, MN/U. of North Dakota) three-pointer. The Saints cut the Blugold lead to 15-14 with 8:59 to go in the first half. The Blugolds would extend the lead back to seven at the 4:47-mark after a Jared Bardon (Jr.-DeForest, WI) three-pointer. St. Scholastica responded and tied the game up at 27-27 with 1:37 to go in the half. Back-to-back three-pointers by Luke Meier (Jr.-Cross Plains, WI/Middleton) and Zack Ryan (Jr.-Lake Elmo, MN/Tartan) gave Eau Claire a 33-27 halftime lead.

Both teams shot the ball fairly well in the first half as the Blugolds shot 48% and the Saints shot 50%. Of the Blugolds 29 attempts, 14 were three-pointer. The Blugolds connected on five of those, while the Saints were 0-for-5 from beyond the arc.

The game remained close for the first five and a half minutes of the second half as the Saints cut the Blugold lead to one at 42-41. The Blugolds then pulled away, going on a 16-0 run over the next eight minutes to extend its lead to 57-41. Dan Beyer (Jr.-Waukesha, WI/Catholic Memorial) had two layups in that stretch and the Blugolds had three, three-pointers. The lead climbed all the way up to 61-43 with 5:49 remaining in the game. The Saints cut the lead down to nine, but the Blugolds still prevailed with a 72-60 victory.

Eau Claire had 15 second-chance points and shot 52% from the field in the second half. The Blugolds finished at 50% for the game. The Blugolds ended up 10-for-23 from three-point land. The Blugold defense also stepped up in the second half, holding the Saints to just 35% from the field.

Dan Beyer matched a career-high with 22 points to go along with a career-high 12 rebounds. Jared Bardon chipped in 14 points, while Zack Ryan and Geoff Probst each had 10. Ryan also led the team with six assists. William Maupins led the Saints with 22 points.

The Blugolds will have another non-conference matchup on Saturday when they travel to the upper peninsula of Michigan to face Finlandia University (MI). The game will begin at noon local time.

Eau Claire-St. Scholastica Box Score

- JR -