OSHKOSH, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – After being down by 19 points late in the first half, the UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team came back to defeat UW-Oshkosh 81-74 at Kolf Sports Center tonight.
The Blugolds end a losing streak at UW-Oshkosh dating back to 1995. Prior to tonight's game, Eau Claire had fallen 18 straight times at Oshkosh. The Blugolds' previous victory came on February 10, 1995, an 82-66 win – View Box Score from 1995 Win
In tonight's game, the score was tied at 9-9 six minutes in, but the Titans then used a 9-0 run to build a nine-point lead (18-9). Oshkosh steadily increased its lead and was up by 19 (44-25) with four minutes remaining in the first half.
From there, the Blugolds closed the half with an 11-4 run to close the Titans' lead to 12 points (48-36) at halftime.
In the second half, the Blugolds outscored the Titans 45-26. Eau Claire chipped away at the Titans' lead and tied the game at 6:52 with a Lewis Mau (Fr.-Colfax, Wis.) three-pointer to make the score 66 apiece.
Over the final six minutes, Oshkosh failed to hit a shot from the field, scoring its final six points from the free throw line. In that stretch, the Blugolds had 15 points to help in the seven-point victory.
Playing 34 minutes, Jordan Petersen (Jr.-Strum, Wis./Eleva-Strum) led the Blugolds with 22 points while Nick Craggs (Jr.-Kimberly, Wis.) saw 28 minutes of action and finished with a double-double. He led the game with 10 rebounds and had 16 points. James Pfitzinger (Sr.-West St. Paul, Minn./Academy of Holy Angels) was the only other Blugold in double-figures as he scored 13 points.
In the first half, the Blugolds shot just 40.7 percent from the field but hit 63.6 percent of their shots in the second half to finish the game at 51 percent (25-for-49). Oshkosh shot 53.3 percent in the opening half and then hit just 30.4 percent of their shots in the second half to finish 43.4 percent (23-for-53) for the game.
Eau Claire improves to 14-7 on the season and 6-6 in the WIAC while Oshkosh drops to 4-16 overall and 0-11 in conference play.
Saturday, the Blugolds will host UW-River Falls as part of a doubleheader with the women. The game will get underway from the women's contest, which begins at 3 p.m.
-KM-
