PLATTEVILLE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) - On the heels of a one-point loss over the weekend, the UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team dropped another conference game 58-49 to UW-Platteville.

Boosted by a pair of jumpers from Marcus Ruh (So.-Green Bay , Wis./Bay Port), the Blugolds actually clutched a small lead for much of the first five minutes of the game. But the Pioneers kicked their offense into gear, going on a 10-0 run until midway through the first. 

Heading into the second period, the Blugolds faced a challenging 10-point deficit, which quickly morphed into a 17-point Pioneer advantage by the middle of the half. With the clock ticking, Eau Claire began mounting its comeback. Led by Amadou Fofana's (Sr.-Appleton, Wis./West) seven unanswered points in just over two minutes, the Blugolds crept to within 10 of the lead. But Eau Claire couldn't keep pace with the Pioneers in the final minutes and ultimately fell 58-49.

Fofana was the leading scorer for the Blugolds, putting up 17 points. Ruh also added another 14 points to the scoreboard while Nick Craggs (So.-Kimberly, Wis./Kimberly/UW-Whitewater) came down with a team-high seven rebounds. In spite of the loss, the Blugolds actually outshot the Pioneers, completing 48.8 percent (21-for-43) of its shots compared to Platteville's 38.9 percent (21-for-54).

The loss is the Blugolds' third consecutive, and drops the team to 6-6 overall and to 2-3 in the conference. Platteville earned its first WIAC win tonight and improves to 8-5 overall.

Eau Claire will try to end its current streak with a home win against Finlandia University (Mich.) on Jan. 10 for Youth Night. Game time is set for 6 p.m. in Zorn Arena.