By Kyle Naber, UWEC Sports Information
MENOMINEE, Wis. (Blugolds.com)- The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's basketball added their third straight victory Saturday afternoon after defeating the University of Wisconsin-Stout 78-57 at Johnson Fieldhouse.
The Blugolds are starting to heat up in conference play and now sit in third place in the WIAC behind University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.
In the first half, the Blugolds took no time to get hot as they stormed out to a quick 14-3 run thanks to a trio of three-point jumpers from Tyson Kalien (Sr. - Chippewa Falls, WI/Chi-Hi). The Blugolds did not stop there as they put an absolute clinic on in Menominee scoring 42 points in the first half. It was not all offense either as Eau Claire held the Blue Devils to just 19 first half points.
The Blue Devils were relentless in trying to get back into the game, but the Blugolds continued to fight off all attempts. Eau Claire's barrage of three-pointers helped them to cruise to an easy 78-57 victory. For the Blugolds this gives them their 12th win of the season and their 5th win in WIAC play.
George Diekelman (So. – Stevens Point, WI/SPASH) led Eau Claire in this one with 17 points while Kalein added fifteen after shooting 5-7 from the three-point line. The Blugolds shot 51 percent on the night including 13-26 from beyond the arc. On defense Eau Claire was equally impressive as they held Stout to 35.6 percent from the field on the night.
Eau Claire will continue their road trip as they head to University of Wisconsin-River Falls on Wednesday in another big WIAC conference match-up. Tip-off is set for 7:00 pm.
