PLATTEVILLE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – In a game that featured 10 lead changes while it was tied 12 other times, the UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team came up just short, 60-58, at UW-Platteville tonight.
It was a hard-fought battle right from the beginning and neither team got too far out in front of the other. The Blugolds led by as much as six points in the second half while the Pioneers led by as many as seven points later in the second half.
After the game was tied for the 11th time with eight minutes to play, the Pioneers used a 7-0 run to build their largest lead of the night. But the Blugolds fought their way back and tied it for the 12th time at 57 points apiece with less than three minutes to play.
But there was little scoring the rest of the way as Platteville managed three points and Eau Claire scored just one.
The Blugolds had an opportunity to win the game near the final buzzer but a Dustin Kalien (Jr.-Chippewa Falls, Wis./Chi-Hi) three-pointer missed the mark and while Jordan Petersen (Jr.-Strum, Wis./Eleva-Strum) came down with the offensive rebound, there wasn't enough time to put up another shot.
Three Blugolds reached double-figures in scoring, led by Petersen with 11. Nick Bartlett (Jr.-Arden Hills, Minn./Mounds View) and James Pfitzinger (Sr.-West St. Paul, Minn./Academy of Holy Angels) came away with 10 points each while Kalien led the Blugolds with seven rebounds.
Neither team shot particularly well, but Platteville led the way shooting 36.2 percent (17-for-47) from the floor while the Blugolds shot 33.3 percent (20-for-60). The Pioneers scored 20 of their points at the free throw line while the Blugolds came away with just 10 points.
The Blugolds fall to 14-10 overall and 6-9 in the WIAC while Platteville improves to 14-11 on the season and 8-8 in the conference.
Saturday, the Blugolds will finish the regular season by hosting UW-Stevens Point in a doubleheader with the women. The Blugolds must win in order to keep their playoff hopes alive. Action is set to get underway at 5 p.m.
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