EAU CLAIRE, Wis. ?The UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team upset fourth-ranked UW-Platteville 65-60 in its final regular season home contest in Zorn Arena tonight.

The Blugolds remain tied for fourth place in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with an 8-7 record while they improved their overall record to 15-9. Platteville drops to 20-4 on the season and 12-3 in the conference and stays tied for second in the WIAC. Earlier this season the Blugolds lost to the Pioneers 83-54 in Platteville.

While Platteville averages almost 76 points per game, the Blugolds shut the Pioneers down and held them to their second lowest score of the season. The Pioneers' lowest score of the year came against UW-Stout in a 55-51 victory for Platteville.

The Blugolds controlled the pace of the game for a majority of the contest despite the fact the lead changed 12 times and was tied eight times. Down the stretch the Pioneers put the pressure on the Blugolds and took a three point lead with just over three minutes to go. However, Eau Claire was able to hang on and used an 8-0 run in the final three minutes to take the 65-60 victory over the Pioneers.

Dan Beyer (Sr.-Waukesha, Wis./Catholic Memorial) kicked off scoring for the Blugolds tonight while he also scored six of the final eight points of the game to tie for a game-leading 23 points. Ryan Shea (So.-Duluth, Minn./East) also finished with 23 and led the contest with four steals. Beyer also tied for a game-high seven rebounds as Geoff Probst (Jr.-Moose Lake, Minn.) pulled down six.

Leading the Pioneers was Curt Hanson, who finished with 18 points and five rebounds. Jeff Skemp, who is second in the conference in scoring, finished with 17 points and seven rebounds. Nick Allen also added 10 points, all coming in the second half.

The Blugolds will compete in their final regular season contest at UW-Stout on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. Earlier this season Eau Claire beat Stout in Zorn Arena 77-61.

Eau Claire-Platteville Box Score

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