By: Christian Kiener, UWEC Sports Information
LA CROSSE, Wis. (blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's basketball team was on the road Saturday for Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) play as they traveled to face the #8 UW-La Crosse Eagles. The Blugolds would put up a strong performance offensively, but rebounding issues on the defensive end would cause Eau Claire to come up short on the road 73-64.
Carter Brooks (Sr. – Lakeville, MN) got the Blugolds going early with 6 points attacking the post and pushing Eau Claire out to an 8-2 lead in the first five minutes. The Eagles however would tighten up their defense and capitalize on turnovers to come back to tie the game at 20. The Blugolds would struggle to finish at the rim for the remainder of the half and go into halftime down 31-22.
The Blugolds once again got off to hot start going on a 14-5 run lead by Brooks and Carter Hanke (Jr. – Marathon, WI) tying the game back up at 36. The Eagles would stretch the lead back out by 11 with 6 minutes to go in the half. Gunnar Tebon (So. – Sturgeon Bay, WI) would reignite the Eau Claire offense scoring 8 of his career high 13 total points in the final minutes to close on the La Crosse lead. However, the Blugolds defense would struggle to protect the glass and the Eagles would pull away with a 73-64 victory. Hanke would also have a career night with a team high 19 points.
The Blugolds (10-12, WIAC 3-8) will be back in action at home Wednesday for WIAC play against UW-Stout with Tipoff scheduled for 7PM.
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