EAU CLAIRE, Wis. - Although the game was close for the first six minutes, the UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team came up short 80-60 against fourth-ranked UW-Stevens Point at Zorn Arena tonight.

The loss is only the Blugolds' second of the season at home. Eau Claire drops to 9-7 overall and 3-5 in the conference. Stevens Point, which is in first place in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC), improves to 14-2 on the year and 8-0 in conference play.

While the Blugolds struck first in the contest, Stevens Point built a lead throughout the game the Blugolds could never overcome. After leading three times in the first six minutes of the game, Stevens Point used a 13-0 run to get up by 12. Eau Claire had its moments and was able to close the gap to six three more times in the half, but Stevens Point pushed their lead back to 12 by the end of the first.

Stevens Point kept the pressure on Eau Claire in the second and continued to increase its lead. The rest of the way the Blugolds were unable to cut the Pointers' lead back to single-digits, with Stevens Point leading by as much as 22 in the half.

For the game the Pointers went 31-for-56 from the field, shooting 55.4 percent while Eau Claire finished 39.3 percent from the floor (22-for-56). Stevens Point also came away with 10 3-pointers, shooting 47.6 percent on the night. Eau Claire finished 3-for-14 from beyond the arc (21.4 percent). Stevens Point also edged Eau Claire in rebounding 34-31, but the Blugolds pulled down more offensive boards with eight to the Pointers' six.

Ryan Shea (So.-Duluth, Minn./East) led the Blugolds in scoring tonight with 18 points and also pulled down eight rebounds. Dan Beyer (Sr.-Waukesha, Wis./Catholic Memorial) finished with 13 points and six boards, while Geoff Probst (Jr.-Moose Lake, Minn.) led the game with nine rebounds. Ryan Shea (So.-Duluth, Minn./East) also reached double-digits for the Blugolds with 10 points.

The Pointers were led by Bryan Beamish with a game-high 19 points. He also led Stevens Point with five rebounds. Pete Rortvedt finished with 15 points and four rebounds.

Next up the Blugolds will face UW-La Crosse in the first game of a doubleheader with the women. The men's game will start at 3 p.m. at Mitchell Hall in La Crosse.

Eau Claire-Stevens Point Box Score

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