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Issued: February 2, 2008

MEN’S BASKETBALL SUFFERS WORST LOSS OF SEASON

WHITEWATER, Wis. – The UW-Eau Claire men’s basketball team dropped its fourth straight conference game tonight in an 85-65 loss to No. 8 UW-Whitewater.

The 20-point loss is the worst defeat of the year for the Blugolds, who fall to 4-7 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) and 10-10 overall. The worst loss previous to this was a 64-49 game at La Crosse. Conference-leading Whitewater moves to 9-2 in the WIAC and 16-3 in all games.

Though the Blugolds never had a lead, the team made it a game through most of the first half. After Whitewater started out on a 7-0 run, Eau Claire got it to 7-5 at 16:41 after a Geoff Probst (So.-Moose Lake, MN) free throw. Whitewater again picked up the pace and made it an eight-point margin at 14:25. The Blugolds then went on a 10-2 surge to tie it at 19 with 10:56 to play in the half.

Whitewater took the lead back for less than a minute before Dan Beyer (Sr.-Waukesha/Catholic Memorial) made both free throws to tie it at 21-all. A scoreless drought of more than two minutes kicked in for both teams. Whitewater broke the stretch and began to pull away. They went on a 19-0 run to make it 40-21 at 2:43. Eau Claire’s next score would come at 1:47, making for a scoreless drought of more than seven minutes. The half would end with a 40-27 lead for Whitewater. The Warhawks outshot Eau Claire 48-4 percent-to-34.6 percent.

Whitewater was able to hold its lead in the second half, as Eau Claire never brought it below 10 points. The Warhawks started off the half on a 12-2 burst to make the lead 23 points with 17:06 left. It stayed above 20 until the Blugolds went on a 10-0 run at 15:59. It brought the margin to 54-41, the closest it would get in the second half. An 8-0 response put Whitewater up by more than 20 again and the team cruised to an 85-65 victory.

The Blugolds actually outshot Whitewater 48.5 percent-to-46.4 percent in the half, but the Warhawks got 17 points from the line.

For the game, the home squad outdid Eau Claire from the floor (47.5 percent-to-42.4 percent), rebounds (37-to-31) and turnovers (18-to-12). The Blugolds shot better from long range (37.5 percent-to-36.4 percent) and on free throws (60.0 percent-to-58.1 percent). Whitewater went 25-for-43 on the line while Eau Claire went 9-of-15.

Beyer again led Eau Claire on offense with 21 points and five boards. Ryan Shea (Fr.-Duluth, MN/East) contributed 11 points and Probst had 10. Kori Vernon led the Warhawks with 21 points.

Eau Claire’s all-time lead on Whitewater drops to 69-42.

Up next for Eau Claire is an away contest versus No. 20 UW-Oshkosh. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

- PH -

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