Issued: December 29, 2002

BLUGOLDS ADVANCE TO FINAL WITH WIN OVER WILLIAM PENN

EAU CLAIRE - The UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team used a 14-3 run late in the second half to advance to the championship game of the Holiday Classic with a 78-66 victory over William Penn University of Iowa here tonight at W.L. Zorn Arena.

The Blugold's record improves to 9-1 overall and remains at 3-0 in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action while the Statesmen drop to 5-11 on the season.

Jason Larson (Sr-Sugarland, TX/Stephen F. Austin) started out hot for the Blugolds scoring the first 10 points for Eau Claire but the hot shooting of the Statesmen equaled Larson's 10 points. Both teams were neck and neck for the better part of the first half until a 15-5 run by the Blugolds put them up by 10 with just over a minute to play in the first half. Sean O'Hare of William Penn hit a long three-point shot from nearly half-court to pull the Statesmen within seven heading into halftime.

William Penn cut into the Blugold lead quickly and brought the lead to just three points within five minutes into the second half. Simulating the first half, both teams again were neck and neck until a 14-3 run by Eau Claire gave the Blugolds a 14 point advantage with under three minutes to play in the game. Eau Claire would hold on to the lead and walk away with the 12 point victory.

Jason Larson led all Blugolds in scoring with 17 points while pulling down seven rebounds and dishing out three assists. Andy Witte (Sr-Madison/Monona Grove) threw in 13 points for the Blugolds while totaling a game-high eight rebounds and also dishing out three assists. Dan Archambault (So-Oshkosh/West) and Casey Drake (Jr-Rhinelander) also contributed double-digit scoring with 12 and 10 points respectively. All four leading scorers for the Blugolds nailed two trifectas each along with Will Jefferson (So-Wausau/East) who ended up with eight points on the evening.

Sean O'Hare led the Statesmen with a game-high 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting including hitting six shots from behind the arc. Jason Beall threw in 16 points for the Statesmen.

In the first game of the tournament the Cougars from the University of Sioux Falls used swift cuts and great passing to rout Augustana College of Illinois by a score of 70-54. The Cougars took a one point lead with 14 minutes remaining in the first half and never looked back. Adam Burnison led the Cougars with 18 points while Brian Allured scored 11 for Augustana.

The Blugolds will face the Cougars tomorrow night in the championship game of the Holiday Classic while William Penn will battle Augustana in the third place match-up. Tip-off for the third place game is at 6:00 while the championship game will be held afterward at 8:00.

Eau Claire-William Penn Box

Sioux Falls-Augustana Box