EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's basketball team edged UW-Platteville 72-70 in the opening round of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Tournament on Monday at Zorn Arena. In a game full of runs, the Blugolds got the pivotal one at the end of the second half to advance to the tournament semifinals.
The Blugolds got out to a hot start and scored 15 of the game's first 20 points. Spencer Page (Sr. – Rice Lake, Wis.) hit back-to-back 3-pointers and Carter Hanke (Sr. – Marathon, Wis.) hit a 3 of his own as part of a 10-0 run that broke apart a 5-5 tie. The Pioneers had an answer though, and embarked on a 19-3 run to surge ahead 24-18 with 5:13 left in the half. A pair of 3-pointers from David Ijadimbola (Jr. – Brooklyn Park, Minn./Park Center) helped the Blugolds bounce back, and the sides entered halftime tied at 33.
UW-Eau Claire came out with another strong opening in the second half. Brock Voigt (Sr. – Sun Prairie, Wis.) scored six points as part of a 9-0 spurt that saw the Blugolds build a six-point lead early in the period. UW-Platteville was able to close that gap to two a few minutes later before the Blugolds utilized a 7-2 run to go ahead 54-47 with 11:22 to go. However, the Pioneers had another push and came back to tie the game at 57.
Alex Voigt (Sr. – Sun Prairie, Wis.) made a go-ahead free throw with 8:26 remaining and the Blugolds never trailed again. It started a 9-2 run to put UW-Eau Claire in front by seven with five and a half minutes left. The Pioneers closed the gap down to two with 54 seconds remaining, but the Blugolds held on to advance to the conference semifinals.
Brock Voigt (Sr. – Sun Prairie, Wis.) led the Blugolds with 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Hanke and Page finished with 13 points and four rebounds apiece, and Nolan Blair (Jr. – Stevens Point, Wis.) added 11 points and three rebounds.
UW-Eau Claire shot 47% from the field, including a 40% clip from 3-point distance. They played clean basketball with only seven turnovers, and scored 13 points off Pioneers turnovers.
Fourth-seeded UW-Eau Claire will visit top-seeded UW-Oshkosh in the semifinals on Wednesday, Feb. 22. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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