WHEATON, Ill. - Despite a late second-half surge after being down by 21 points at one time in the second, the UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team came up short against Ohio Wesleyan University 87-78 in the first game of Wheaton College's Lee Pfund Classic here tonight.

The Blugolds led only two times the entire evening, but after being down by 21 points with 13:34 to go, the Blugolds steadily chipped away at the Battling Bishops' lead and closed the gap to only three points with 3:23 to go in the contest. However, in the remaining minutes Ohio Wesleyan put up 13 points while the Blugolds were only able to score six, ending any hopes of an Eau Claire comeback.

Ohio Wesleyan, a team that made it to the NCAA Division III Sweet 16 and was the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament champs a season ago, jumped out to the first lead of the game with Kyle Miller draining a two-pointer less than 30 seconds in. Colin Boone (Jr.-Eau Claire, Wis./Memorial) answered on the Blugolds' next trip down the court with a three and Eau Claire took its first lead of the game. The Blugolds also led with 11 minutes to go in the first with a score of 17-15, but the Bishops found the basket a minute later and took the lead for good.

Eau Claire got off to a slow start tonight, scoring 28 points behind 37.9 percent shooting from the field in the first half, while Ohio Wesleyan shot 52.9 percent and scored 44 points. In the second, however, Eau Claire scored 50 points to OWU's 43 and both teams were 50 percent from the field. For the game, Ohio Wesleyan shot 51.6 percent and was 9-for-21 from beyond the arc (42.9 percent). Eau Claire ended the game shooting 44.4 percent and went 9-for-25 from the three-point line (36 percent). The Blugolds shot 72.2 percent (13-for-18) from the free throw line, while the Bishops were 14-for-23 (60.9 percent).

Ryan Shea (So.-Duluth, Minn./East) led the Blugolds tonight with 21 points and six rebounds. Jordan Kappen (Jr.-Blair, Wis./Blair-Taylor) put up 14 points, while Josh Prince (Fr.-Cadott, Wis./Chippewa Falls) and Dan Beyer (Sr.-Waukesha, Wis./Catholic Memorial) scored 11 and 10, respectively. Kappen and Beyer each had five boards.

Ohio Wesleyan's Dillon McBride led the game with 23 points, while three others reached double-figures. Kyle Miller, who scored 17 points, also had a game-high eight rebounds, while two others pulled down seven.

Tomorrow the Blugolds will take on the Staten Island in the consolation game of Wheaton College's Lee Pfund Classic at 5:30 p.m. Staten Island lost to host Wheaton College 87-51 tonight in the second game.

Eau Claire-Ohio Wesleyan Box Score

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