EAU CLAIRE, Wis. - The UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team came up short in the 39th Annual UW-Eau Claire Holiday Classic, falling to Jamestown College (N.D.) 85-76 here tonight.

Jamestown, who received votes in the latest National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Men's Basketball Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll, improves to 10-5 on the season while the Blugolds drop to 7-4.

The Blugolds shot 27-for-54 (50.0%) from the field tonight, but the Jimmies hit 29 of 47 shots (61.7%), their second best shooting percentage of the season. Jamestown also bested the Blugolds in shooting percentage from beyond the arc, shooting 61.5% (8-for-13) compared to the Eau Claire's 42.9% (9-for-21). The Blugolds, however, went 13-for-14 (92.9%) from the line, while the Jimmies went 19-for-27 (70.4%).

Eau Claire got on the board first tonight, taking a 3-0 lead one minute into the game, but the Jimmies quickly tied up the score on a three-pointer by Jake Holen, who led the game in scoring with 31 points. Eau Claire's Ryan Shea (Fr.-Duluth, Minn./East) answered to tie the score up. After exchanging a few more shots, Jamestown took the lead at 15:45 and never looked back. The Blugolds were able to stick close to the Jimmies in the first half, although they found themselves down by 15 with just under four minutes remaining in the period, and were able to cut the lead to seven at the half.

The Blugolds had a bit of trouble in the second half, as the Jimmies lead steadily increased at the beginning of the half. Jamestown's lead peaked at 18 points with just over 11 minutes remaining in the contest with back-to-back dunks by the Jimmies. The Blugolds then started to cut the lead the rest of the game and got to within six on a Zack Ryan (Sr.-Lake Elmo, Minn./Tartan) jumper with just under one minute remaining. It would be the last field goal of the game for the Blugolds.

Four Blugolds posted double figures for Eau Claire, with Dan Beyer (Sr.-Waukesha, Wis./Catholic Memorial) leading the way with 18 points. Shea contributed 16 while Colin Boone (So.-Eau Claire, Wis./Memorial) scored 13 and Geoff Probst (So.-Moose Lake, Minn.) added 11. Probst also led the Blugolds with four rebounds and Ryan posted four assists.

For the tournament, Ryan totaled 10 assists and received the playmaker award for his efforts. Eau Claire's Ryan Shea and Geoff Probst made the all-tournament team, while Marian's Jordan Van Ess, Viterbo's Cornelius Bardney and Jamestown's Kyle Iverson also were named to the team. John Peabody (Jamestown) received the fireman award for contributions by a non-starter, Eric Ambrose (Viterbo) received the hustle award, and Logan Rankin (Marian) was named king of the boards for his 14 rebounds. Jamestown's Jake Holen was named tournament MVP.

Up next, the Blugolds will take on Finlandia University in Zorn Arena on Monday, January 7 at 7 p.m.

Eau Claire-Jamestown Box Score

- KM -