EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's basketball team rode career nights from Gunnar Tebon (Jr. – Sturgeon Bay, Wis.) and Michael Casper (Jr. – Merrill, Wis.) to best rival UW-Stout 95-86 on Wednesday at Zorn Arena. The two guards teamed up to score 58 points in the Blugolds' victory.
Tebon poured in a career-high 33 points to lead all scorers. Casper matched his career best with 25 points. UW-Eau Claire survived a second-half push from the Blue Devils to snap a two-game losing streak.
"We rely on a lot of different guys," Blugolds coach Matt Siverling said. "Depending on who's playing well that night, we just stay with them and good things are going to happen."
The Blugolds followed the trend that they've been on for the last several weeks, building a large lead in the first half. The Blue Devils made their first three shot attempts to take a 6-3 lead early, but the Blugolds took over midway through the half. An 11-0 run turned a seven-point UW-Eau Claire lead into a 17-point advantage at 38-21 with eight minutes remaining. Casper scored seven of the 11 points in the spurt.
However, UW-Stout used a run of its own to pull back into the game before halftime. A 9-0 spurt for the Blue Devils cut the lead down to single digits with four minutes remaining. They whittled the Blugolds' advantage to 48-42 by halftime.
Casper accounted for 22 points to boost the Blugolds in the first half, and Tebon erupted in the second half to see out the win. Tebon scored 23 points after the break.
Each side traded swings early in the second half before the Blue Devils finally finished off their rally by going ahead 56-55 with 14:02 left. UW-Eau Claire threw its haymaker across the next several minutes, outscoring UW-Stout 17-4 in the ensuing five and a half minutes. It re-established a double-digit lead, and the Blugolds stayed ahead by six or more points the rest of the way.
UW-Eau Claire made nine crucial free throws across the final two and a half minutes to keep the Blue Devils at arm's length.
Tebon eclipsed his previous career best by 20 points. He also had four rebounds, four steals and two assists. Casper had a pair of steals and a pair of rebounds. David Ijadimbola (Jr. – Brooklyn Park, Minn./Park Center) and Carter Huschka (Jr. – Farmington, Minn.) added seven points apiece. Huschka had five rebounds and Ijadimbola had four boards and three assists.
UW-Eau Claire shot 47% from the field and made 12 3-pointers. The Blugolds forced 11 turnovers defensively.
The Blugolds are back at home on Saturday, Jan. 21, when they host UW-La Crosse. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Zorn Arena.
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