LA CROSSE, Wis. (blugolds.com) – The UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team notched their first Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) win Saturday, defeating UW-La Crosse 73-66 at Mitchell Hall.
Tyson Kalien (Jr.-Chippewa Falls, WI) exploded for 32 points to lead the Blugolds, shooting an impressive 10 for 17 from the field (59 percent) and five for seven (71 percent from behind the arc.
The game was tied 5-5 when UW-Eau Claire scored eight straight points to lead 13-5 with 13:39 remaining after a Jacob Kohner (Jr.-Bloomington, MN) layup. The Blugolds later led 15-10 with 11:32 left when they went on an 18-2 run to take their biggest lead of the game at 33-12 with 5:05 remaining. Kalien scored nine points in the run.
UW-La Crosse went on a 12-2 run of its own to cut the deficit to 35-24 with 1:44 remaining but the Blugolds took a 37-24 lead into the locker room.
Eau Claire led by as many as 13 points in the second half but the Eagles went on several runs to make it close. UW-L trailed 54-49 with 7:25 left but could get no closer the rest of the game.
Leading 58-53 with 4:55 remaining, the Blugolds scored five straight points on Kalien's three-pointer and Kohner's layup to make it 63-53 with 3:34 left. Eau Claire led 67-55 with 1:40 remaining before the Eagles cut the margin to 67-61 with 56 seconds left. UW-Eau Claire went 10 for 14 at the line in the final 2:03 to earn the win.
UW-Eau Claire shot 52 percent (26 for 50) from the field, including 42.9 percent (six for 14) from three-point range, and 65.2 percent (15 for 23) at the line.
The Blugolds held the Eagles to 38.6 percent from the field, including 28.6 percent (eight for 28) from three-point range, and 66.7 percent (14 for 21) at the free throw line.
Kalien led all scorers with 32 points, scoring 15 in the first half and 17 in the second half. Kohner also finished in double figures with 10 points.
Skylar Cameron led the Eagles with 21 points while Trent Schmidt had a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Blugolds (5-8, 1-3 WIAC) will travel to Menomonie Wednesday to take on the Blue Devils at 7 p.m.
-JM-
