PLATTEVILLE - After leading for much of the contest today at Bo Ryan Court, the UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team suffered a 61-58 setback to UW-Platteville after the Pioneers scored the final seven points of the game.

On a day when Platteville named its court after former Pioneer coach and current Wisconsin Badger head coach Bo Ryan, the Blugolds appeared they were going to spoil the party. The Pioneers led the first 50 seconds of the game and Eau Claire led for the next 38 straight minutes. The Pioneers regained the lead with 27 seconds left in the game after Kyle Tetschlags' layup put the Pioneers up for good. Today's game was similar to the first meeting this season when the Blugolds led for 18:53 in the second half until a three-pointer by Bob Richter gave the Pioneers the lead. Platteville scored the final 11 points in that game.

The loss drops the Blugolds conference record to 3-8 and overall record to 9-10. The Pioneers improve to 6-4 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) and 11-7 overall. Platteville sweeps the season series and has won five of the last six meetings.

The Pioneers scored the first points of the game, but Dan Beyer (Jr.-Waukesha, WI/Catholic Memorial) gave the Blugolds their first lead with a three-pointer just 50 seconds into the contest. Matt Riley (Sr.-Cadott, WI) followed that with a three of his own to give Eau Claire a four-point lead. Geoff Probst (Fr.-Moose Lake, MN/U. of North Dakota) became the third Blugold to hit a three-pointer, as he gave Eau Claire a 15-8 lead with 12:44 to go in the first half.

That's as big as the lead got in the half until the final two minutes of the half when three-pointers by Luke Meier (Jr.-Cross Plains, WI/Middleton) and Zack Ryan (Jr.-Lake Elmo, MN/Tartan) closed the half to give Eau Claire a 35-26 halftime advantage.

The Blugolds shot 58% in the half, while the Pioneers shot 47%. The Blugolds were 5-for-9 from behind the three-point line in the half. The Blugolds' bench out-scored the Pioneers' bench 12-2 in the half. However, free throws kept the Pioneers close as they were 8-for-12 and the Blugolds were just 0-for-2.

A three-pointer by Matt Riley began the second half as the Blugolds went on an 8-0 run to take an early 14-point second half lead. With the Blugolds up 41-27, the Pioneers went on an 11-0 run over the span of three minutes to cut the Blugolds lead back to three with 13:06 remaining.

The Blugolds however would not relinquish the lead. The Blugolds led 55-54 with 3:14 left to play. Zack Ryan then hit the front end of one-and-one to give the Blugolds a 56-54 lead with 1:37 on the clock. Ryan delivered again for the Blugolds as he hit a jumper in the lane to give Eau Claire a four-point lead with a little less than a minute to play.

Platteville's Charlie Lohoff would then connect on a three-pointer with 38 seconds left to cut the Blugold lead to 58-57. After the Blugolds turned it over on a jump ball, Kyle Tetschlag took the inbounds pass and hit a layup to give the Pioneers the lead. Mike Jamerson then got a steal on the next Blugold possession and hit two free throws after being fouled to give the Pioneers a 61-58 lead. Luke Meier's three-point attempt to tie the game was off of the mark as the Pioneers escaped with a 61-58 victory.

The Blugolds shot just 39% in the second half and 49% for the game. Platteville shot 46% in the second half and 47% for the game. The Pioneers had 11 points off of Blugold turnovers in the half. The big story was free throws as Platteville was 17-for-26 for the game, while the Blugolds were just 4-for-9.

Dan Beyer had a team-high 17 points and led the Blugolds along with Matt Riley with five rebounds. Geoff Probst had 11 points off of the bench. The Pioneers Charlie Lohoff finished with a double-double with a game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds.

The Blugolds remain on the road as they will face No. 1-ranked UW-Stevens Point on Wednesday night