STEVENS POINT, Wis. (Blugolds.com) - The UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team was no match for 15th-ranked UW-Steven Point, as it fell 68-34 in its final game of the season.
Eau Claire opened the game with a two-point jumper to take an early lead but less than 30 seconds later, UWSP made a three-point basket and never looked back. The Blugolds would not score another basket for six minutes while the Pointers increased the lead to 18-5. Stevens Point outscored the Blugolds 22-13 to end the half, and led Eau Claire 37-18 at halftime.
The Blugolds made just five shots from the field in the second half, two from beyond the arc, while going 4-for-9 from the free throw line. They scored just 16 points in the second half as the Pointers scored 31. Stevens Point reached its largest lead of the game with 6:25 remaining as it led by 38 points (65-27).
UW-Eau Claire shot just 23.4 percent from the field (11-for-47) while Stevens Point went 27-for-53 (50.9 percent). The Pointers also led on the rebound count, grabbing 39 to the Blugolds' 30. UWSP shot 38.9 percent (7-for-18) from behind the three-point arc as UWEC went 4-for-21(19 percent).
Lewis Mau (So.-Colfax, Wis.) led the Blugolds in scoring with nine points. Nick Craggs (Sr.-Kimberly, Wis.) pulled in six rebounds for Eau Claire and added four points. Freshmen teammates Ryan Tachick (Green Bay, Wis./Bay Port) and Stephen Hodgson Jr. (Suamico, Wis./Bay Port) each scored five points on the afternoon.
The Blugolds finish the season with a 10-14 record, 4-11 in WIAC play. Stevens Point moves to 20-4 and 13-2 in the WIAC. They advance to the WIAC tournament that begins next week, including the top six conference teams. The Blugolds were eliminated Wednesday when they lost to UW-Platteville.
-MW-
