EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's basketball team defeated Northwestern-St. Paul 79-63 on Wednesday night at the Sonnentag Event Center. UW-Eau Claire pulled ahead early with a 37-26 lead at halftime and maintained control throughout the second half, outscoring their opponent 42-37. The home team dominated the boards with 49 rebounds, including 15 on the offensive end, and scored 44 points in the paint. Northwestern-St. Paul struggled to close the gap, despite a perfect 9-for-9 performance from the free-throw line.
The game began with a strong start for the Blugolds, as
Xavier Lewis scored two quick layups in the first minute, establishing an early lead.
Will Boser extended the lead with a three-pointer at 17:31, assisted by
Andre Renta, pushing the score to 7-2. Northwestern-St. Paul kept pace with a three-pointer at 16:16, narrowing the gap to 9-7. The home team maintained their advantage with Boser hitting back-to-back three-pointers at 2:23 and 1:58, assisted by
Roan Demovsky, expanding the lead to 34-24. UWEC ended the first half with a 37-26 lead, highlighted by
Kenji Scales' three-pointer with 55 seconds remaining.
The blugolds extended their lead early in the second half with
Carter Lichtsinn's layup and
Will Boser's three-pointer, moving the score to 42-26. The Eagles struggled to keep pace, despite a three-pointer at 16:33.
Xavier Lewis bolstered UW-Eau Claire's advantage with consecutive layups, helping maintain a steady lead. The game concluded with the Blugolds winning 79-63, capitalizing on free throws from Lewis in the final seconds.
Carter Lichtsinn recorded a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds, along with five assists and three steals.
Xavier Lewis led the scoring with a season high 27 points on 11-for-13 shooting and added 11 rebounds.
Will Boser contributed 12 points, including four 3-pointers, and collected six rebounds. Scales added 10 points, hitting two 3-pointers and dishing out three assists.
UW-Eau Claire holds a perfect 9-0 overall record. Northwestern-St. Paul sits at 2-6 on the season.
In their next game, the Blugolds will travel to face UW-Superior on Saturday, Dec. 13. The matchup is set for 3 p.m. at Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium in Superior, Wisconsin.
Follow the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire all season long at Blugolds.com or on our app, Blugold Sports, and on social media on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
