SUPERIOR, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – After leading 44-35 at halftime, the UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team managed to score just 18 points in the second half, falling to UW-Superior 70-62 at Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium tonight.
The Blugolds trailed just twice during the first 37 minutes of the game. After the score was tied for the seventh time at 59 with four minutes left, the Blugolds were able to get a lead one more time, 62-61, with just over time minutes to play.
But over the final two minutes, the Blugolds were unable to score any points as the Yellowjackets used a 9-0 run to win by eight.
Eau Claire led by as many as 12 points (35-23) almost 14 minutes into the game and still held a double-digit advantage over three minutes into the second half.
Adam Hjelter (So.-Hutchinson, Minn.) led the Blugolds in scoring with 19 points while Lewis Mau (Jr.-Colfax, Wis.) finished with 17 points. Kurtis Moody (So.-Pequot Lakes, Minn.) recorded a double-double, scoring 11 points and pulling down a game-high 14 rebounds.
The Blugolds shot just 6-for-33 (18.2 percent) from the field in the second half after shooting 15-for-29 (51.7 percent) in the first half. They finished the game outrebounding Superior 41-40.
Eau Claire drops to 9-12 overall and 2-10 in the WIAC while Superior improves to 6-14 on the season and 3-8 in conference play.
The Blugolds will be on the road again Saturday at UW-River Falls. Action will get underway at 7 p.m.
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