EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team led just once tonight as UW-Superior defeated the Blugolds 75-68 on Ken Anderson Court in Zorn Arena.
It took the Blugolds nearly five minutes to get their first basket of the night as Superior built an 11-0 lead. The Yellowjackets led by as many as 12 points in the opening half, three times. With Superior up by 12 with nine minutes remaining in the first half, the Blugolds got back to within five (34-29) with a minute before halftime. Superior scored the final four points of the half to lead 38-29 at halftime.
The Yellowjackets were back up by 10 points less than two minutes into the second half but the Blugolds began chipping away at the lead. Over a four-minute stretch, Eau Claire outscored Superior 14-5 to get within one (47-46).
After Superior got back up by seven, the Blugolds then outscored the Yellowjackets 13-5 over a five-minute stretch to take their first lead of the night (59-58) with just over four minutes to play.
But the Yellowjackets hung on after outscoring the Blugolds 17-9 the rest of the way to win by seven.
Three Blugolds reached double digits in scoring with Jacob Kohner (So.-Bloomington, Minn./John F. Kennedy) leading the way with 14 points. Lewis Mau (Jr.-Colfax, Wis.) led Eau Claire in rebounding with nine.
A big difference in the game came at the free throw line, where the Blugolds scored just five points while Superior had 19. The Yellowjackets also held a rebounding advantage, 41-31.
Eau Claire drops to 8-8 overall and 1-6 in the WIAC while Superior improves to 5-10 on the season and 2-4 in conference play.
The Blugolds will be off Saturday with their next game scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 22 at UW-Oshkosh. The game will begin at 7 p.m.
-KM-