BARABOO, Wis. - The UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team notched its second victory of the season tonight, winning 81-60 over Finlandia University in the Wisconsin Dells Classic

The Blugolds opened the game scoring and would never trail the rest of the way. Both teams went back and forth to start the game, but a 9-0 run early in the game helped the Blugolds achieve an 11-point lead. The teams would again go back and forth and the Blugolds would take a 12-point lead into the locker room. Eau Claire shot 57.1% in the first period, and went 4-6 from beyond the stripe.

The second period opened with two more buckets for the Blugolds to push their lead to 16. Finlandia would then turn on the pressure and get to within six with just over 15 minutes remaining, but the Blugolds would then turn it on and never allow the Lions a chance to get any closer. With just under two minutes remaining in the contest, the Blugolds picked up their largest lead of the game, a 24-point lead.

Leading the Blugolds tonight was Dan Beyer's (Sr.-Waukesha, WI/Catholic Memorial) 18 point, 12 rebound performance, recording his seventh career double-double and second of the season. Beyer also led the team with six assists. Four other Blugolds would finish with double digit point totals. Ryan Shea (Fr.-Duluth, MN/East) ended the game with 16 points, Geoff Probst (So.-Moose Lake, MN) scored 15 and Colin Boone (So.-Eau Claire, WI/Memorial) had 11.

The Blugolds shot 49.2% from the field, going 30-61. Eau Claire was able to drain nine three-pointers in the contest, compared to Finlandia's five. While the Blugolds committed more turnovers than Finlandia, with 12 to Finlandia's 10, Eau Claire was able to turn Finlandia's into 13 points, while Finlandia scored only 11 off turnovers.

Finlandia now falls to 0-4 on the season while Eau Claire improves to 2-2.

The Blugolds will be back in action next Wednesday when they travel to Duluth, Minn. to take on St. Scholastica. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

Eau Claire-Finlandia Box Score

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