DULUTH, Minn. (Blugolds.com) – The UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team picked up its second straight win, defeating the College of St. Scholastica (Minn.) 77-59 at Reif Gymnasium tonight.
Just over three minutes into the game, the Blugolds took the lead and never looked back.
After being up by just one (14-13) nine minutes into the game, the Blugolds went on a 13-point run over the next four minutes to go up 27-13. The Blugolds maintained a double-digit lead all the way until the end of the half when a St. Scholastica layup in the closing seconds made the score 40-31 at halftime.
In the second half, the Saints outscored the Blugolds 7-2 over the first three and a half minutes to get to within four (42-38). But that was as close as St. Scholastica was able to get the rest of the night. Eau Claire worked its way to a 10-point lead (50-40) midway through the half and only gave up the double-digit lead one more time with three minutes left. The Blugolds outscored the Saints 12-3 over the final two minutes to win by 18.
Four Blugolds reached double figures in scoring with Lewis Mau (Jr.-Colfax, Wis.) leading the way with a career-high 26 points. Jacob Kohner (So.-Bloomington, Minn./John F. Kennedy) finished with a double-double, scoring 10 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.
As a team, the Blugolds hit 43.3 percent of their shots from the field (26-for-60) while St. Scholastica shot 39.1 percent (25-for-64). Eau Claire hit 75 percent of its free throws (21-for-28) while the Saints were 7-for-18 (38.9 percent). The Blugolds held a 49-38 advantage in rebounding.
Eau Claire improves to 2-0 on the season while the Saints drop to 0-3. The Blugolds remain undefeated all-time against St. Scholastica with a 16-0 record.
This weekend the Blugolds will be at the Bethel University Tournament. They will play Bethel at 8 p.m. Friday to kick off the tournament and will then face either Luther College (Iowa) or Marian University Saturday.
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