Issued: February 12, 2003

MEN'S BID FOR .500 FALLS SHORT AGAINST OSHKOSH

OSHKOSH - With a six point lead in the second half the Blugolds looked poised to climb back to the .500 mark in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play but could not withstand the hot Titan shooters as the UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team fell to 18th ranked UW-Oshkosh 76-62 here tonight at Kolf Sports Center.

The Blugolds fall to 14-9 on the season and 6-8 in WIAC play with the loss while the Titans improve to 17-5 overall and 8-5 in conference play.

Both teams took great care of the ball totaling just 13 turnovers between the two teams. The Titans buried Eau Claire with hot three-point shooting, hitting 7-of-10 shots from behind the arc. While the Blugold shooters were consistent in the second half with a 50 percent clip from the field, Oshkosh caught fire from the floor hitting 16-of-23 shots for nearly 70 percent in the second half. Both teams took advantage of free throw opportunities, missing just three chances in 27 attempts combined.

The Blugolds, behind the hot shooting of Jason Larson (Sr-Sugarland, TX/Stephen F. Austin) showed they were ready to play in the first half. Larson scored seven of the Blugolds' first nine points to give them a one point advantage early. It was the Titans, however, that took the first noticeable lead of the game as they jumped out to a six-point advantage with 8:37 to play in the half. Eau Claire saw itself down by five with less than 1:30 to play in the half but Larson and Dan Archambault (So-Oshkosh/West) hit back-to-back trifectas to end the half with the Blugolds leading by one at 33-32. Larson ended the first half with a game-high 19 points while Archambault added nine. The pair of Blugold guards totaled 28 of Eau Claire's 33 points in the first half.

After the lead switched hands four times in the opening minutes of the second half, the Blugolds used a quick 7-2 run to take their biggest lead of the game at 44-38. The Titans responded with a 9-0 run to recapture a three point advantage of their own. The game remained tight the ensuing minutes and with 9:09 to play Oshkosh held a one-point lead. The Titans caught fire for the remainder of the game and finished the final nine minutes with a 27-14 lead to give them the 76-62 conference victory.

Larson added 10 points in the second half to give him a team-high 29 on the evening while also hitting all eight free-throw attempts and dishing out four assists. Nate Beck (So-Rothschild/D.C. Everest) had a solid performance for the Blugolds with 12 points and five rebounds. Archambault finished with 11 points on the evening while Andy Witte (Sr-Madison/Monona Grove) grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

Tim Dworak led the Titans in both scoring and rebounding with 29 points and six boards. Nate Miller added 17 points for Oshkosh. Six of eight Titans that saw playing time knocked down at least one three-point shot.

The Blugolds finish the regular season with back-to-back home games at Zorn Arena. Eau Claire faces Whitewater Saturday night at 7:00 and Platteville Wednesday night at 7:00 in its bid to get back to .500 in conference play.

Eau Claire-Oshkosh Box