EAU CLAIRE - The UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team could never recover from a pair of 8-0 runs in the first half as I-94 rival UW-Stout defeated the Blugolds 80-69 tonight at Zorn Arena.

The loss drops the Blugolds overall record to 9-9 and conference record to 3-7. The Blue Devils improve to 10-8 overall and are also 3-7 in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) play. The win snaps a five-game losing streak by the Blue Devils. It was also their first road conference win this year.

For the first nine minutes of tonight's action neither team had a lead of greater than three points. The Blugolds Matt Riley (Sr.-Cadott, WI) scored eight of the team's first 14 points. A Jared Bardon (Jr.-DeForest, WI) three-pointer gave the Blugolds a 17-16 lead with 11:34 remaining in the first half.

Stout then went on the first of two 8-0 runs to take a 24-17 lead with 7:02 on the clock. With the Stout lead at three points with over four minutes to go, the Blue Devils would use their second 8-0 run of the half to take a 34-23 advantage with 1:23 left to play in the half. A layup by Geoff Probst (Fr.-Moose Lake, MN/U. of North Dakota) with 11 seconds left cut the lead to nine as the Blue Devils went into the locker room with a 34-25 lead.

The Blue Devils shot 45% in the first half, while the Blugolds shot 32%. Stout out-scored Eau Claire in the paint 20-10 and out-rebounded the Blugolds 22-16.

The Blue Devils got hot from beyond the arc in the second half as they made five three-point field goals in the first eight minutes. The Blugolds, to their credit, also made their three-point field goals to hang in the game as Geoff Probst had four in the half. Stout did extend its lead to as much as 15 with 12:42 remaining in the game.

A Jared Bardon three-pointer and two free throws cut the Stout lead to 71-64 with 3:43 to play. However, the Blue Devils scored the next seven points and they would cruise to an 80-69 victory. It was the seventh-straight win by the Blue Devils over the Blugolds.

The Blue Devils were 6-for-8 on three-point field goals in the second half, while the Blugolds were 9-for-19. Stout shot 57% in the half and 51% for the game. The Blugolds shot 52% in the second half and 42% for the game. The Blue Devils out-scored the Blugolds 36-22 in the paint for the game and out-rebounded Eau Claire 38-33.

The Blugolds had four players score in double-figures tonight. Jared Bardon had 19 points to lead Eau Claire. Dan Beyer (Jr.-Waukesha, WI/Catholic Memorial) had a double-double with 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. It was his fourth double-double of the season. Geoff Probst contributed 16 points off of the bench and Matt Riley added 11 points. Jacob Nonemacher had his second double-double of the season against the Blugolds as he had a game-high 22 points and 10 rebounds.

The Blugolds will travel to face UW-Platteville on Saturday for the first game of a men and women's doubleheader. Platteville will be naming the court after former Pioneer coach and current Wisconsin Badger head coach Bo Ryan. The tip-off will be at 3 p.m.

Eau Claire-Stout Box Score

- JR -