WAUKESHA, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's basketball notched their first win of the season Friday night with a 79-65 win over Luther College at the Johnson Bank Tip-off Tournament hosted by Carroll University.
UW-Eau Claire jumped out to an early lead as Jacob Kohner (Sr.-Bloomington, MN/John F. Kennedy nailed a three to get the Blugolds rolling but the Knights would stay close and knotted the score at 16 with 14:21 left to play.
However, the Blugolds responded with a 27-10 run to end the half, taking a 43-26 lead into the locker room.
Eau Claire came out strong in the second half and would claim a 22-point lead with 8:29 to go. The Blugolds would never look back, cruising to a 79-65 win.
The Blugolds shot 50 percent from the field (30-60) as well as from the three-point line (9-18) while holding Luther to 41 percent (25-61) from the floor and 36 percent (9-25) from three.
Three Blugolds scored in double figures, led by Jack Martinek's (Jr.-New Brighton/Irondale) 17 points to lead all scorers. George Diekelman (So.-Steven Point, WI/SPASH) and Jared Schneidermann (Jr.-Brooklyn Park, MN/Concordia Academy) added 16 and 15 points, respectively. Schneidermann also tallied nine rebounds in the win.
Dan Becken (Jr.-Lino Lakes, MN/Centennial) also chipped in a game-high 10 rebounds for the Blugolds.
The Blugolds (1-1) will face host Carroll at 4 p.m. on Saturday in the final day of the tournament.
