LA CROSSE, Wis. - After losing Wednesday at Zorn Arena for only the second time this season, the UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team got back on track with an 85-70 victory over UW-La Crosse today at Mitchell Hall.

The Blugolds improve to 10-7 on the season and 4-5 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) while the Eagles fall to 8-10 overall and 2-7 in the WIAC. Earlier this season the Blugolds defeated La Crosse 71-66 at Zorn.

In the first half the Eagles led more than eight minutes, getting up by as much as five at one time in that stretch. But the Blugolds buckled down and took the lead near the 11 minute mark and led the rest of the game. Eau Claire pushed its lead to 12 with just under seven minutes to go in the half but La Crosse cut the lead back to eight less than a minute later. After more than a three minute scoring drought for both teams, Eau Claire finally put more points on the board to get back up by 10 but La Crosse was able to close the gap to four before the end of the half.

The Eagles were never able to get closer than four the rest of the way and the Blugolds continued to push their lead back to double-digits, getting up by as much as 16 twice in the second half before taking the 15-point victory.

The Blugolds shot a season-best 61.7 percent from the floor today, shooting 29-for-47. Eau Claire was also 46.2 percent from beyond the arc and 84 percent from the line. The Eagles finished the game shooting 37.5 percent from the floor and 82.1 percent from the charity stripe. Eau Claire also edged the Eagles in rebounds with 30 to La Crosse's 27.

Dan Beyer (Sr.-Waukesha, Wis./Catholic Memorial) led the Blugolds with a season-high 29 points and 11 rebounds, recording his second double-double of the year. Beyer went 10-for-14 from the floor, including 3-for-3 from beyond the arc, and shot 6-for-7 from the free throw line.

Ryan Shea (So.-Duluth, Minn./East) also reached double-figures with 15 points and came away with four assists. Colin Boone (Jr.-Eau Claire, Wis./Memorial) picked up a game-high six assists and added five points.

La Crosse's Trevor Stratton led the game with 30 points and led the Eagles with nine rebounds, while also finishing with a game-high four steals. Andy Merklein added 11 points and Tony Mane finished with nine.

The Blugolds will be back on the road for a game against UW-Superior on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. in Superior.

Eau Claire-La Crosse Box Score

- KM -