PLATTEVILLE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) - The UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team dominated the second half of a game against Clarke University (Iowa) and went on to win 84-63 at the UW-Platteville Classic today.
The Blugolds (2-1) dominated the boards, outrebounding Clarke (5-3) 51-30 and shot well from the floor, 54.8 percent (34-for-62) to Clarke's 34.9 percent (22-for-63).
The Blugolds didn't grab a lead they would not give up until midway through the first half and while Clarke pulled to within two late in the half, the Blugolds finished the half strong to go up by eight at the intermission.
Eau Claire came out strong in the second half and pushed its lead to 19 points (50-31) after holding Clarke scoreless over the first four minutes of the half.
The Blugolds never relinquished a double-digit lead after that and built a 26-point lead late in the half.
Amadou Fofana (Sr.-Appleton, Wis./West), who was named to the All-Tournament team, finished with a double-double to lead Eau Claire with 20 points a game and career-high 14 rebounds.
Three other Blugolds reached double-figures with Andy Kleist (So.-Eau Claire, Wis./North) coming away with 13 points, Ivan Franklin (Sr.-Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater/UM-Duluth) finishing with 11 and Matt Coenen (Jr.-Appleton, Wis./East/St. Norbert) totaling 10.
Next weekend the Blugolds will be at the UW-Oshkosh Classic for two more games. Friday's game against Silver Lake College will kick off at 3 p.m. while Saturday's game against Milwaukee School of Engineering will also be at 3 p.m.
