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Issued: February 8, 2008

MEN’S BASKETBALL LOOKS TO REBOUND AGAINST RIVER FALLS

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – After losing by two points in an exciting overtime game to No. 24UW-Oshkosh, the UW-Eau Claire men’s basketball team looks to pick up a conference win over UW-River Falls on Alumni Day tomorrow.

The Blugolds could move to .500 with a win as they stand at 10-11 overall. The team has gone 4-8 in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) games. The Falcons are 8-12 overall but 2-9 in the conference. Their last game was also in overtime, an 84-81 win over UW-Superior. It ended a streak of seven losses.

The Blugolds have kept it close with a lot of teams, as Eau Claire is outscored by only 0.3 points per game. Eau Claire is 4-2 in games decided five points or less. The team outshoots opponents from the floor 50.7 percent-to-45.4 percent. Opponents perform better from long range (37.1 percent-to-34.0 percent) and from the line (72.7 percent-to-66.3 percent). Eau Claire wins the rebound battle and loses the turnover margin by 1.3 in each. The team’s 15.33 assists per game are second in the WIAC.

Dan Beyer (Sr.-Waukesha/Catholic Memorial) leads the team and conference in scoring with 18.6 per game while Ryan Shea (Fr.-Duluth, MN/East) and Geoff Probst (So.-Moose Lake, MN) follow behind him at 14.0 and 11.0. Beyer has a team-leading 7.0 rebounds per game, third among WIAC competitors. Shea is tops in assists and steals with 2.9 and 2.2, respectively. He ranks second in the conference for steals.

The Falcons get outscored by an average of 1.2 points per game and shoot similar to their opponents from the floor (45.7 percent-to-45.5 percent) and from behind the arc (35.4 percent for each). On free throws, opposing squads do better 70.9 percent-to-64.5 percent. River Falls pulls down more rebounds by 0.9 and gives the ball up by 0.5 times more per game. Its 23.85 defensive rebounds per game are second-most in the conference.

Two Falcons average double-digits, those being Nate Robertson (10.7 points) and Willie Wright (10.1 points). Robertson is also the rebounding leader at 5.3. DiJon Reese and Brady Hannigan provide the most assists and steals at 3.3 and 1.0, respectively. Danny Johnson’s 57.1 percent (20-for-35) on threes is the highest WIAC mark.

On Jan. 19, Eau Claire beat River Falls 74-70 with one of those close wins. That brought the all-time series to 103-78.

This next battle between the Blugolds and Falcons is at 5p.m. tomorrow in Zorn Arena.

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