WHITEWATER, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – Facing the No. 10-ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater on the road on Saturday, the UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team came home with a 69-65 win to move to 2-0 in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) play.
The two teams were tied at 35 at the half, thanks to hot shooting from the Blugolds from the three-point line. Eau Claire was 6-for-12 from three, half of which coming from Cole Rabedeaux (Jr. – Poulsbo, WA/North Kitsap).
The Warhawks jumped to an early lead coming out of the locker room and held a 44-36 advantage with 14:36 left in the contest after starting the second half on a 9-1 run. The Blugolds fought back to tie the game at 52 with 7:39 remaining.
The game was tied again at 61-61 with 3:24 on the clock after a pair of free throws by Whitewater, but Rabedeaux hit from beyond the arc on the next possession. The Blugolds never relinquished the lead from there.
Rabedeaux and Spencer Page (Fr. – Rice Lake, WI) each hit a pair free throws down the stretch to seal the big road win for Eau Claire.
The Blugolds hit 51 percent (25-for-49) from the floor and 50 percent (11-of-22) from three-point range while Whitewater shot 46.4 percent (26-for-56) from the floor and 26.3 percent (5-for-19) from the three-point line.
Rabedeaux led all scorers with 20 points while Page and Sean Miller (Jr. – Waukesha, WI/Kettle Moraine) came off the bench to chip in 13 and 10 points, respectively.
Eau Claire (9-4, 2-0 WIAC) will play their first WIAC home game on Wednesday when they host UW-La Crosse (9-4, 2-0) at 7 p.m. Follow the action on Blugold Game Day or on the 'UWEC Blugolds' app on your mobile device.