WHITEWATER - Despite a career-high 40 points by Dan Beyer (Jr. -Waukesha/Catholic Memorial), the UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team came up one point short in its Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference season finale against UW-Whitewater here Saturday afternoon.

The Blugolds dropped a 73-72 decision after trailing by 12 at halftime and by 19 early in the second half. Beyer almost singlehandedly pulled the Blugolds back into position to end a five-game losing streak against the Warhawks.

After scoring 14 in the first half, Beyer scored the Blugolds' first 13 points of the second half and totaled 26 in the final 20 minutes. He became only the fifth player in school history to score 40 or more points and the first since Chester Smith tallied 41 against UW-Oshkosh on Feb. 4, 1984. The school single game scoring record is 49 points set by Tony Carr against UW-Platteville on Jan. 16, 1982. The only other players to score 40 or more were Stan Johnson and Stan DuFrane.

Junior Jared Bardon (DeForest) also played a big role in the comeback with 12 second-half points including the team's final eight points of the game. He totaled 16 for the game.

The Blugold comeback accelerated when Whitewater stopped hitting three-pointers. The Warhawks hit six of nine treys in the first half and three of their first four in the second half. They hit their last bucket beyond the arc at the 13:03 mark when they still led, 57-43.

The difference in marksmanship beyond the arc eventually determined the outcome. The Warhawks finished with 9 for 16 shooting on treys while the Blugolds were just one for nine, that coming from Beyer who was 15 for 21 from the field, 1 of 2 from beyond the arc and 9 of 10 from the foul line. Beyer also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.

After trailing 57-43, the Blugolds went on an 11-2 run to pull within five at 59-54 with 7:10 to go. They got within three at 61-58 and 63-60, the latter with 4:29 remaining.

Following a missed bonus free throw by Whitewater's Josh King, Bardon scored on a layup to make it 70-68 with just 55 seconds left. Jason Price then hit the second of two free throws with 29 seconds. The Blugolds came down and scored on another Bardon layup with seven seconds remaining. Anthony Mlachnik was fouled as the Warhawks attempted to inbound after the Blugold score and he converted both free throw attempts for a three-point advantage. The Blugolds missed a three-point attempt and Bardon put in a rebound basket at the buzzer to account for the final score.

The loss left the Blugolds with a final 3-13 WIAC record and a 10-15 overall mark. Coupled with UW-Stevens Point's 103-64 win over UW-Superior, the Blugolds grabbed the No. 8 seed for the conference tournament which begins Tuesday. The Blugolds will travel to Stevens Point to face top-seeded and undisputed conference champion Stevens Point in a quarterfinal game.

With the win, their sixth in their final seven games, the Warhawks finished 10-6 in the league and 17-8 for the season and will own the No. 4 seed for the conference tournament, hosting UW-Platteville in the quarterfinals Tuesday.

Eau Claire-Whitewater Box Score

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