MENOMONIE, Wis. (blugolds.com) — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's basketball team fell to UW-Stout 83-74 on Wednesday at Johnson Fieldhouse. The Blugolds fell in a 15-point hole early in the second half and managed to pull within four by the final few minutes of regulation, but couldn't complete the comeback.
The defeat snapped UW-Eau Claire's two-game win streak in the series. The Blugolds had won 14 of the previous 18 meetings between the two teams.
A barrage of 3-pointers helped the Blugolds (8-8, 1-4) slowly chip away at the Blue Devils' foothold in the second half, but they couldn't quite make up the deficit.
Carter Lichtsinn (So. – Olathe, Kan./Olathe West) continued his strong run as of late, scoring a team-high 15 points for UW-Eau Claire.
Michael Casper (Sr. – Merrill, Wis.) added 14 points, and
Carter Huschka (Sr. – Farmington, Minn.) had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
There wasn't much to separate the longtime rivals for the first 12 minutes of the game. However, UW-Stout (8-8, 3-2) turned a 20-20 tie into a 10-point lead with a 13-3 run across nearly five minutes toward the end of the first half. It left the Blugolds playing catch-up across the final four minutes before the break, and the Blue Devils eventually sported a 41-33 halftime lead.
UW-Stout used its size to its advantage in the opening half, out-rebounding the Blugolds 23-16 and scoring 30 of its 41 points in the paint.
An 11-2 run early in the second half gave the Blue Devils some extra breathing room with a 15-point lead. The Blugolds gave a few pushes, but weren't able to get the deficit below seven until they took their biggest swing in the final six minutes. An 8-2 spurt that featured five points from Huschka got the Blugolds within four points of the lead at 74-70 with 3:18 to go.
UW-Stout had a final answer though, finishing the game on a 7-2 run to keep the Blugolds at arm's length and see out their victory.
The Blue Devils finished with 46 rebounds compared to 32 for UW-Eau Claire. UW-Stout shot 51% from the field, while the Blugolds shot 41%. UW-Eau Claire made 11 3-pointers in the contest.
Drew Maloney (Jr. – St. Charles, Minn.) scored tallied 12 points and six rebounds for the Blugolds.
Gunnar Tebon (Sr. – Sturgeon Bay, Wis.) had nine points.
Caiden Lecce (So. – Kenosha, Wis./St. Joseph Catholic) had seven points and a career-high six assists.
The Blugolds are back at it with another road game in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) on Saturday, January 20. UW-Eau Claire visits UW-La Crosse, with tip-off set for 6 p.m. at Mitchell Hall.
