EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) - The UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team moved on to the championship game of the 2009 UW-Eau Claire Holiday Classic with a 78-62 triumph over Coe College (Iowa) tonight at Zorn Arena.

The Blugolds (7-3) will now face Buena Vista University (Iowa) on Wednesday at 8 p.m. to determine the tournament champion. Buena Vista defeated Heidelberg University (Ohio) in the first game of the classic 78-63 tonight.

Eau Claire never trailed against the Kohawks (2-8) this evening and led by as much as 10 in the first half. While they Blugolds had just a three-point lead at halftime, they came out strong in the second half and pushed their lead to 16 points after a 15-2 run over the first five minutes.

The Blugolds got up by as much as 24 points late in the game but Coe outscored Eau Claire 13-5 over the final four minutes in the 16-point Blugold win.

Both teams finished the night with 42 rebounds and were nearly even in turnovers with the Blugolds committing 18 to Coe's 22. The Blugolds outshot the Kohawks 44.3 percent (27-for-61) to 31.1 percent (19-for-61). Coe kept the game close in the first half in large part due to picking up six three-pointers, but made just two in the second half.

Colin Boone (Sr.-Eau Claire, Wis./Memorial) led the Blugolds with 15 points while Coe's Kevin Gaster led all scorers with 16. Boone also had a game-high four assists. Jordan Kappen (Sr.-Blair, Wis./Blair-Taylor) added 11 points and Marcus Ruh (Fr.-Green Bay , Wis./Bay Port) led Eau Claire with six rebounds.