By Kyle Naber, UWEC Sports Information
Eau Claire, Wis. (Blugolds.com)-The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's basketball team fell in their home opener 76-62 to No. 4 University of St. Thomas (Minn.) Saturday night at Zorn Arena.
In the first half, the Blugolds came out hot, opening with a 7-2 lead and firing up the home crowd. St. Thomas would keep it close for the first half, never surrendering. The Blugolds kept the pressure on. At the 4:45 mark in the first, St. Thomas tied it up at 26. The Blugolds gave the lead to the Tommies, but came back with a layup from Vemilion County College (Minn.) transfer, Deondre Lucas (Jr. Norcross, GA/Meadowcreek) and Eau Claire regained the lead after a three-pointer from Jacob Kohner (Sr. Bloomington, MN/Jon F. Kennedy).
Tyson Kalien (Sr. Chippewa Falls, WI/Chippewa Falls) kept the 7-0 run going with a lay-up. St. Thomas wasn't going to go away easily, as they went on a 6-0 run to end the first half with the lead, 34-33.
In the second half, the Tommies continued to add to their lead by starting on a 10-4 run. The second half saw the opposite of the first, with the Blugolds trailing and fighting hard to get back into it. After two free throws from Kalien, Eau Claire brought it to a two-point deficit. After that, St. Thomas buckled down and outlasted the Blugolds to go on to outscore them 42-29 in the second.
The Blugolds struggled at the free-throw line shooting 11 of 22 on the night.
The Blugolds were led by Kohner who had 13 points, three rebounds, and an assist. Kalien and Jack Martinek (Jr. New Brighton/Irondale) both had 11 points each.
Eau Claire will be back in action on Friday, November 20th, where they will take on Luther (Iowa) at 5:00 pm as part of the Johnson Bank Tip-Off.
