By Matt Halverson, UWEC Sports Information
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) - The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's basketball team (7-4, 0-0 WIAC) won their Holiday Classic with an 80-74 win over St. Olaf College on Wednesday night in Zorn Arena.
The Blugold offense got rolling early, opening the game with a 9-1 run to set the tone in the first half. The lead grew further into the first half with leadership from junior guard Jack Martinek (Jr.-New Brighton, Minn./Irondale), putting up 14 points and shooting 75 percent from the field.
Eau Claire's offense was able to stay hot thanks to their 72 percent team shooting display in the first half, including 7-11 from behind the three-point line. The Blugolds took an 11-point lead into halftime, 44-33.
St. Olaf held strong to open the second half, with several pushes to chip the lead to below eight in the first ten minutes. It wasn't until the final minutes of the game that St. Olaf finally rallied to tie the game 73-73 with 2:14 remaining. The Blugolds held the run off there, however, catching fire from the field once more with key shots from sophomore George Diekelman (So.-Stevens Point, Wis./SPASH) to finish out the game. St. Olaf never led throughout any point in the game despite their late run.
Martinek led the Blugolds with 24 points and five rebounds. Jared Schneidermann (Jr.-Brooklyn Park, Minn./Concordia Academy) also added 10 points and seven rebounds before fouling out with 25 seconds remaining.
Next up for the men's basketball team is their conference opener against the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (7-4, 0-0 WIAC) on Wednesday, January 6 at 7:00 p.m. in Zorn Arena.