LA CROSSE - The UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team lost its second Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) game today, falling to UW-La Crosse 60-44 at Mitchell Hall.

The Blugolds drop to a record of 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the WIAC. The Eagles improve to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in conference play. The Eagles have won three straight against the Blugolds.

The Blugolds got ahead early as they scored the first six points of the game on a Matt Riley (Sr.-Cadott, WI) three pointer, a Jared Bardon (Jr.-DeForest, WI) free throw, and a Steve Hoelzel (Jr.-Kaukauna, WI/UW-Milwaukee) layup. The Blugolds would go up 8-2 after a Dan Beyer (Jr.-Waukesha, WI/Catholic Memorial) layup.

The Eagles then went on a 17-3 run, which included an 11-0 run that put the Eagles up 19-11 with 6:48 remaining in the first half. The Blugolds got the lead down to six a couple of times the rest of the first half, but the Eagles went into the locker room with a 29-18 lead.

La Crosse shot 50% from the field, while the Blugolds shot 39%. The Eagles had 18 of their 29 points come in the paint. The Blugolds were 3-of-6 from beyond the arc in the first half. Neither team got to the free throw line very much as both teams combined for just five free throw attempts. The Blugolds had 11 first half turnovers

It wouldn't get much better for Eau Claire in the second half as the Eagles started the half with a 12-3 run to extend their lead to 20. The La Crosse lead grew to as much as 23 with 7:22 to go in the game. The Blugolds got the lead down to 14 at the end of the contest, but the Eagles went on to win 60-44. This was La Crosse's largest margin of victory over the Blugolds since the 1997 season.

The Blugolds finished the game shooting 31% from the field. La Crosse finished at 46%. The Blugolds out-rebounded the Eagles 34-32, but committed 18 turnovers in the contest.

Jared Bardon led the Blugolds in scoring with 11 points. Zack Ryan (Jr.-Lake Elmo, MN/Tartan) added seven points. Bardon also led the team with five rebounds and three assists. Joe Werner had a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Eagles.

The Blugolds will play their first home game of the season Wednesday night when they host UW-River Falls. It will be the first game of a men and women's doubleheader. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. in Zorn Arena.

Eau Claire-La Crosse Box Score

- JR -