EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's basketball team built a large lead in the first half and cruised to a 72-58 win over Wartburg College on Wednesday at Zorn Arena. The Blugolds got hot from long range early on, and the Knights never fully recovered.
UW-Eau Claire made 12 3-pointers and shot 46% from beyond the arc. It helped the Blugolds establish a 15-point lead before halftime, and they cruised from there.
"I thought the way that Wartburg defended, they were really aggressive when we drove the basketball. So one of the keys to the game was to make sure that we got into the paint, we read the defense and found the open guy," Blugolds coach Matt Siverling said. "I thought we did a really good job of moving the basketball tonight and got some open shots."
The Blugolds continued their trend of quickly heating up from 3-point range, draining seven in the first 10-plus minutes of the first half. Spencer Page (Sr. – Rice Lake, Wis.), David Ijadimbola (Jr. – Brooklyn Park, Minn./Park Center), and Cade Hall (Jr. – Mauston, Wis.) all made two triples in that span for UW-Eau Claire. It helped the Blugolds get ahead by 15 with nine minutes remaining in the half, but the Knights immediately clawed back into the game with a 10-0 run. However, UW-Eau Claire scored 13 of the final 17 points in the period to take a 14-point lead into the break. Carter Huschka (Jr. – Farmington, Minn.) threw down a ferocious dunk through contact as part of the strong finish.
The Blugolds finished with eight 3-pointers in the first half and shot 53% from long range.
A steady attack in the second half helped UW-Eau Claire continue to stay ahead. The Blugolds continued to shoot well from beyond the arc and limited clean looks for Wartburg on the other end of the court. UW-Eau Claire added four more makes on 3-pointers and led by 15 or more for the final 12 minutes of the game.
Page led all scorers with 15 points and secured four rebounds. He's now 40 points away from hitting 1,000 for his career. Brock Voigt (Sr. – Sun Prairie, Wis.) tallied 13 points, three rebounds and three blocks. Casper finished with 13 points. Ijadimbola had eight points and five assists, and Hall scored eight points.
The Blugolds return to the court on Wednesday, Dec. 14, when they visit UW-Superior. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Superior.
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