Twenty five years ago, the city of Eau Claire and the UW-Eau Claire campus were abuzz about the Blugold men’s basketball team. Across the state and the nation, March Madness fans were also taking notice. On March 19, 1990, the Blugolds played Birmingham-Southern College of Alabama for the NAIA national championship.
Despite a 14-2 conference record and a second-place finish, the Blugolds were ranked No. 2 in the nation and were making a “Drive for Five.”
To achieve its fifth consecutive trip to the NAIA National Tournament in Kansas City, the Blugolds would need a three-peat over conference champion UW-Platteville on the road to claim the District 14 title and the automatic berth in the 32-team national tournament at Kemper Arena.
The Blugolds had split their season series with Bo Ryan’s Platteville squad. In the first meeting at Platteville on January 10, 1990, the Pioneers had escaped with an 81-78 overtime triumph when the Blugolds were ranked No. 1 in the NAIA. That was the second conference game the Blugolds had lost in overtime, having dropped an extra session game to Stevens Point in December.
But in the rematch at Eau Claire, the Blugolds overwhelmed the Pioneers, who had moved into the No. 1 ranking in the NAIA at the time, by a 69-43 margin to hand Platteville its only conference setback of the season. The Blugolds also avenged their overtime loss to Stevens Point with an 81-64 triumph at Zorn Arena.
The excitement for the 1989-90 Blugold squad started early as 1500 fans showed up for the annual Blue & Gold intrasquad game. Optimism was running high despite the loss of third team NAIA All-Americans Eric Davis, a 6-7 power center, and Mark Miller, a nifty southpaw shooting guard, plus valuable role players Craig Campbell and Chris Paulson. The 1988-89 squad had shared the conference title with UW-Whitewater (which went on to win the NCAA Division III championship) and reached the semifinals of the NAIA tournament before losing to East Central Oklahoma by two points. The Blugolds had finished 29-4 overall so fans were excited for the start of the 1989-90 season as evidenced by the turnout for the Blue & Gold game.
As with most Anderson squads, the 1989-90 roster was dominated by Wisconsin players, but five of the nine regulars arrived at Eau Claire as transfers. Tim Blair, who was named the team MVP the previous season, came from UW-Stevens Point in 1987 after brother Mike had finished a decorated four-year Blugold career. Both had played in state tournaments for their father who coached at Mayville. Mike Prasher came in at the same time as Tim Blair after matriculating at UW-Oshkosh following an All-State career at Menasha.
Mike Johnson, the 1987 state player of the year at Phillips, came back to Eau Claire after spending his freshman season at Creighton.
Derrick Shelton and Lanse Carter were new to the program in 1989-90, Shelton coming from Ellsworth Junior College and the University of Texas and Carter, who went to high school at nearby St. Croix Central, from North Dakota School of Science and West Virginia Wesleyan.
Besides Blair, Prasher and Johnson, the returning lettermen included junior Matt Benedict, a three-point shooting guard from Columbia, Missouri; junior Todd Oehrlein, a 6-6 small forward and defensive specialist from Sun Prairie; and 6-5 sophomore Thane Anderson, a small forward from Black River Falls.
That group of eight would play in all 34 games during the 1989-90 season. They would be joined in the second half of the season by 6-7 junior Duane Bushman from Valders. His addition would be instrumental in the 19-game win streak the team realized heading into the national championship game. Bushman had played the two previous seasons but was not planning to participate his junior season. Because he was married with two children, and both he and his wife Dawn were taking classes and he was working to support his family, he opted to sit out the season. Once he got into a routine, he and Dawn agreed that he could rejoin the team which he did in time for the Holiday Classic on January 2. The saga did not end with his return. After just six games, the last four as a starter, he was sidelined again with a chipped bone in his hand, the result of losing his balance on a dunk.
Compared to many Anderson teams, this one was not extremely big with Johnson, Carter and Bushman the tallest at 6-7 but this squad could play defense, pass, rebound and shoot free throws. The team seemed to have a different star every game, but the result would almost always be the same … a decisive victory.
The Blugolds earned 23 of their 30 wins in 1989-90 by 16 or more points and achieved a 17.0 winning margin for the season. Five players averaged between 11 and 14 points per game led by Mike Prasher at 14.0. Following him were Mike Johnson at 13.4, Tim Blair at 12.9, Matt Benedict at 11.0 and Bushman at 11.3 for the 21 games he played.
While no one averaged more than 14, the top five were all capable scorers, each hitting 24 or more at least once during the season. There were even three 30-plus outbursts. Prasher led the team in scoring 11 times, Blair seven times while Bushman, Johnson and Benedict were the top scorers five times each. Even Carter led the team in points once.
The Blugolds outboarded opponents by 7.0 a game, led by Johnson’s 8.9 per outing. Todd Oehrlein and Bushman contributed 5.2 and 5.1 boards per outing.
The school season record for team free throw accuracy was set during the 1989-90 campaign with a .770 average. Blair (.858), Johnson (.851) and Oehrlein (.822) led the way. Johnson was in the midst of setting the school career free throw percentage mark. During the course of the season, Blair broke Pat Hammond’s school standard of 29 consecutive free throws when he hit 33 in a row. In conference play, he hit 47 in succession. The Blugolds also established a new conference standard for accuracy, converting at an .802 clip in the 16 league contests.
The team had three long-range snipers. Benedict made 90 of the team’s 158 treys, which still stands as the school single season record for makes, hitting at a .376 clip. Blair was the most accurate, connecting on half of his 84 attempts while Prasher made 21 at a .355 clip.
While the Blugolds shot 51 percent from the field, opponents’ .405 shooting percentage was affected by 140 Blugold blocked shots.
Blair set a school record with 190 assists, an average of 5.5 per game. He also led the team with 57 steals while Prasher had 40 and Oehrlein 34.
The Blugolds got the local fans excited early in the season when they notched a 19-point victory over defending NAIA national champion St. Mary’s University on the Rattlers’ home floor in San Antonio, Texas.
Although the Blugolds got their revenge on Platteville for the 9-point overtime loss by claiming a 26-point triumph in Zorn Arena, that setback was the Pioneers’ only conference loss which allowed them to win the league title by one game over the Blugolds. Thus the Pioneers earned the No. 1 seed for the NAIA District 14 championships.
If the Blugolds were to advance to their fifth straight national tournament, which would be a District 14 record (both UW-Parkside and Eau Claire had gone four straight times previously), they would have to beat Platteville on Bo Ryan’s home court. Before that showdown, however, the Blugolds needed to take care of business against UW-River Falls in the first round and UW-Stevens Point in the semifinals. But as the No. 2 seed, the Blugolds would be playing in Zorn Arena. That led to a 16-point win over River Falls with five players scoring between 10 and 14 points. Blair and Prasher tallied 18 apiece to lead a 30-point triumph against Point.
Going to Platteville for a District 14 championship game was old hat for Blair and Prasher. The two had been involved in one of the great comebacks in Blugold history just two years earlier. Blair tallied 19 and Prasher 18 as the Blugolds came from behind to defeat Platteville, 80-77, in overtime.
The two would prove to be the thorn in Bo Ryan’s side again as they scored 24 and 21 to lead a 64-61 win. The outcome was not determined until Blair hit a pair of three throws with 15 seconds left. Platteville also missed a potential game-tying three-pointer just prior to the buzzer.
Coach Anderson was quoted by Tim Huffcutt in the student newspaper The Spectator calling the game, “a classic match, a great ballgame.” He praised the Pioneers saying, “Platteville is definitely a better team than just about all the teams that will play (at nationals). It’s just a shame both teams will not be playing down there (Kansas City).”
The two conference foes battled toe to toe from start to finish. The score was tied at intermission and while the Blugolds led the entire second half, it was never more than eight points. That occurred at 58-50 with 3:25 to go. A couple of treys got the Pioneers close again before Blair’s heroics from the foul line.
Through the first three games of the national tournament, the Blugolds proved worthy of their No. 2 seed, blowing by Philadelphia Pharmacy, 75-51; Southern California College, 92-59, and Central Washington, 76-65.
Huffcutt reported in the March 15 edition of the Spectator, “The word around Kansas City is that no team appears dominant, and any of the top seven seeds have a legitimate title shot.”
Four of the top seven seeds – No. 3 Oral Roberts (OK), No. 6 UM-Duluth, No. 7 Central Washington and No. 2 Eau Claire, were all in the bottom half of the 32-team draw. The top three in the opposite half of the bracket included No. 1 David Lipscomb, TN; No. 4 Birmingham-Southern and No. 5 USC-Spartanburg.
The Blugolds were seeded higher than Duluth which was led by eventual NBA player Jay Guidinger despite the fact the Bulldogs had handed Eau Claire its worst loss of the season, a 72-53 pasting in the championship game of the Eau Claire Holiday Classic. That setback had ended a Blugold home court win streak at 28. Duluth was coached by Anderson’s former assistant coach Dale Race.
Had Duluth continued to win, the Blugolds would have faced the Bulldogs in the semifinals. But 11th-seeded Georgetown (KY) ended UMD’s season with a 73-72 double overtime triumph. Then Georgetown took care of third-seeded Oral Roberts, 80-78, in the quarterfinals.
That set up a semifinal match between the Blugolds and Georgetown for the right to play for a national championship before a live television audience on ESPN.
Tim Blair was the catalyst in the Georgetown encounter but Mike Johnson was the one who sealed the win.
Blair scored 20 points to go over the 1,000-point mark for his career in just 2 ½ seasons following his transfer from Stevens Point after his freshman season. “Timmy played a great game,” head coach Ken Anderson was quoted in the Wisconsin State Journal. “This is the type of game where he’s at his best—when it’s on the line, when you’ve got to make a lot of decisions, good decisions.”
With Georgetown leading, 13-10, Blair canned a short jumper and added a free throw to complete the three-point play and tie the game at 13 with 14:40 remaining in the first half.
Duane Bushman added a tip-in and Blair nailed a trey to cap an 8-0 surge and give Eau Claire the lead for good at 18-13 with 13:30 remaining in the opening half.
The Blugolds extended the lead to 41-31 at halftime and 61-46 with 7:31 left in the game before Georgetown, which finished 29-7, regained its composure. Back-to-back three-point baskets cut the deficit to 65-60 with 1:30 remaining. Johnson, who finished with 16 points, then hit two free throws, rebounded a missed shot, got fouled and added two more free throws. That sequence gave the Blugolds a 69-60 lead with 1:15 left.
After the game, Anderson had this to say about his squad: “This team has come as far or further than any we’ve put on the floor. It certainly didn’t look like a team in the middle of the year. The way they’re playing right now, they’re solid.”
With the Blugold win over Georgetown, the championship game matchup was set after Birmingham-Southern had edged top-seeded David Lipscomb, 98-96, in the first semifinal game.
Eau Claire would be gunning for its first national championship and also seeking to match the school record of 20 consecutive wins, set by the Carr-Coenen-Merten-Morgan team of 1980-81 before a loss in the NAIA semifinals.
The Blugolds under Anderson had played for a national title once before, some 18 years earlier, when they battled Kentucky State on the old Municipal Auditorium floor in downtown KC. That 1972 battle was a rematch of the championship game of the Eau Claire Holiday Classic that season when the two teams were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the nation. Eau Claire came out of that tussle with a 101-81 decision but Kentucky State pulled out the win in the national championship rematch by a 71-62 margin.
Part of the Eau Claire media hype surrounding the 1990 NAIA title game included reflections from the 1972 Blugold players on that showdown game and what the 1990 players would need to do that the 1972 team had failed to do. In a story by current Leader-Telegram editor Don Huebscher, 1972 Blugold Tom Jackson said, “The biggest thing I remember was that we had our lowest shooting percentage of the entire four years we played together. We tried hard, but the shots were not falling.”
Rich Reitzner, a freshman on that team, said “I think we were tired; we had played four hard games down there.” At that time, the winner needed to play five games in six days. The 1990 tournament was spread out over seven days and there was a day off between the semifinals and the championship game.
Said Frank Schade, an All-American guard on the ’72 team, the current players should “not get too hung up on the outcome and concentrate on running their system. Above all, they don’t need any heroes. They should take it a half at a time.”
The championship game was going to be a contrast in styles for ESPN announcers Clark Kellogg and Tim Brando to call. In their four games to reach the final, Birmingham-Southern had scored 97, 72, 87 and 98 points. The Blugolds, who were the top defensive team nationally in the NAIA four times between 1986 and 1991, had held their first four national tournament opponents to 51, 59, 57 and 65.
The game turned into a scoring duel between BSC’s Stacy Butler, a 6-4 forward, and the Blugolds’ Duane Bushman. The slashing Butler scored 36 points including 20 in the second half while Bushman, who had hit a career best 26 points in the second-round win over Southern California, came off the bench to pour in 30 points and keep the Blugolds in the contest. “It became pretty evident we couldn’t stop Butler inside and they couldn’t stop Bushman inside,” Anderson was quoted following the game. Butler connected on 15 of 21 from the field while Bushman hit 12 of 17.
In the post-game press conference, Anderson also said, “They were quicker than us and that hurt. We played a good game—we played a good team. It was a good matchup. They just played a little bit better than we did.”
BSC went on an early 11-2 spurt to turn a 9-7 game into a 20-9 lead. The Blugolds trailed 48-40 at halftime but rallied to tie the game at 61 (11:08) and at 65 (8:56). Besides tying the game, the Blugolds were aided by the fact that Butler was forced to the bench with his fourth foul. When asked if he was concerned at that point, Butler responded, “I wouldn’t be human if I wasn’t. We just kept our composure and it worked out.”
Bushman said that he felt confident when the Blugolds tied the game. “We were making them play our game. I thought we had it going in our direction.” Blair said “When we fought back from 11 down to tie the game, I thought we could get it. But give them credit, they made a run.”
Fred Martinear picked it up for BSC with Butler on the bench. He hit a couple of mid-range jumpers sandwiched around a couple of Blugold charging fouls and the Panthers had regained an eight-point lead.
Another strength that deserted the Blugolds in the title game was their free throw shooting. In their first four games of the tournament, they hit at an 88 percent clip (96 of 109) but against Birmingham-Southern, connected on just 14 of 22.
First-year BSC coach Duane Reboul said after the game: “If we played them tomorrow, they’d have a chance to beat us. You have to be a little lucky. We realize that.”
The game generated a full page banner headline on the front page of the Milwaukee Journal sports section plus three front page stories in the Leader-Telegram. The March 20 L-T edition carried fan stories by Tom Lindner, Michael Klein and Dan Lyksett plus a sports story by Ron Buckli. Among those interviewed were Chancellor Larry Schnack, fans Doug Kunick, Marty Beekman and Shirley Beekman, student Bob Abel and Bushman’s father Don.
Fans who had seen the Blugolds in both the 1972 and the 1990 national championship games thought the Blugolds were jinxed by teams getting hot at the right time. Travis Grant scored 39 for Kentucky State against the Blugolds in 1972.
Besides the game story, Buckli did a story as Anderson looked with optimism to the 1990-91 season. Blair and Derrick Shelton were the only seniors on the squad and the underclassmen were able to regroup and make two more trips to the national tournament in 1991 and 1992 for a run of seven straight seasons.
At a welcome back in Zorn Arena following the title game, Anderson expressed special appreciation for the Blugold fans. “You people are truly unique. You take vacation time, sick leave, what it takes to be there.” He told the crowd that Eau Claire is regarded with envy because of its team, fans and cheerleaders. “I am very proud of this institution and this community,” Anderson said.
Recalling that season, Mike Prasher, who now lives and works in Eau Claire, said he was impressed by the letters the squad had received from local grade school children prior to the national tournament. Matt Benedict, who now works in the Twin Cities, said his memories were also of the great support from the boosters and community.
The welcome back ended with public address announcer Woody Wall praising the fans and the team. “They may have brought back the silver but they are still the Eau Claire Blu-GOLDS!” he said.
The Blugolds reaped a number of awards as a result of their national tournament run. Bushman and Blair were both named to the 10-player All-Tournament team. In addition, Blair received the tournament’s Stevenson Hustle Award, the same award won by the Blugolds’ Frank Schade in the 1972 national tournament. For his performance throughout the season, Blair was also named an NAIA third-team All-American. Mike Johnson would become a second team All-American the following season.
The 30 wins achieved by the 1989-90 team matched the school record for most victories in a season, previously set by the 1979-80 team that also produced a 30-4 record and advanced to the Final Four of the NAIA tournament.
It is interesting to note that after UW-Platteville lost to the Blugolds in three consecutive NAIA District 14 championship games, the Pioneers went the NCAA Division III route in 1991 and won the national championship.
This story was written by Sports Information Director emeritus Tim Petermann based on his own personal sports information files plus articles that appeared in the Leader-Telegram (Eau Claire), The Spectator (UW-Eau Claire student newspaper), the Milwaukee Journal and the Wisconsin State Journal (Madison).