By Kyle Naber, UWEC Sports Information
EAU CLAIRE, WIS. (Blugolds.com)- The winning streak continues to five after the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's basketball team cruised to a 78-67 victory over the University of Wisconsin-Platteville Saturday night in Zorn Arena on Alumni day.
In the first half, the Blugolds jumped out to a quick 10-2 lead after two quick threes from Tyson Kalien (Sr. - Chippewa Falls, WI/Chi-Hi). The Pioneers called a timeout to reset and they responded in a big way. Platteville went on a 13-2 run to take a 15-12 lead just under 14 minutes in the first half. It was then somewhat of a seesaw effort as the game continued to swing back and fourth. As the half drew to a close Platteville made it a two-point game with a three pointer, but Jacob Kohner (Sr.-Bloomington, MN/John F. Kennedy) hit a three in response to head into halftime with a five-point advantage.
The second frame of action saw the Blugolds once again bounce out to a quick start as they jumped to a quick 7-0 run to extend their lead to 14 capped by a Jack Martinek (Jr. New Brighton, MN/Irondale) three-pointer. The Blugold lead went up to 16, but the Pioneers would not quit. Platteville fought until the end, Eau Claire countered every run from the Pioneers and went on to win their fifth straight WIAC game.
The Blugolds cooled down mightily from the three-point line in the second half, but were able to get the ball inside and still shot 27-49 (55.1%) from the field. Martinek led the way for the Blugolds scoring 17 points and adding 5 rebounds. Just behind him was George Diekelman (So. – Stevens Point, WI/SPASH) who had another solid game putting up 14 points and 8 rebounds.
The win moves Eau Claire to (14-7, 7-3 WIAC) on the season and will set them up for a great opportunity to move into first place as the Blugolds just have four games left.
"We will take this one and just move on to the next one," Head Coach Matt Siverling said. "Oshkosh is going to be a tough game, they are a good team."
The Blugolds will look to continue the impressive streak on Wednesday night when they travel to the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh for a 7:00 p.m. battle.