Issued: March 3, 2004

DRAKE, ARCHAMBAULT EARN ALL-WIAC HONORS

EAU CLAIRE - UW-Eau Claire men's basketball player Casey Drake (Jr.-Rhinelander) has been named to the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference All-Conference first team while Dan Archambault (Jr.-Oshkosh/West) has earned honorable mention, it was announced by conference sports information director Matt Stanek.

Drake earns his first All-Conference recognition after leading the Blugolds in several offensive and defensive categories. The 6-3 outside player led the team in points per game (17.6), rebounds per game (4.5), free-throw percentage (.822), steals (29), and minutes per game (34.5) while leading all players with more than nine games in three-point percentage (.370) and all players with a minimum of four shots made per game in field goal percentage (.442). He also finished second on the team in assists with 43.

Drake's 17.6 points per game placed him fourth in the WIAC in scoring while his free-throw percentage placed him sixth in the conference. He earned ninth place in the WIAC in field goal percentage among players with a minimum of four field goals made per game.

Drake was one of only three conference players to score at least 35 points in one game as he scored 35 against UW-Stevens Point on February 14. The other two players were UW-River Falls' Rich Melzer and UW-Stout's Jeff Vandenberghe. Melzer scored 37 against Puget Sound (WA) on November 22 while Vandenberghe scored 36 against Elmhurst (IL) on December 13. Melzer also scored 36 on two other occasions. Drake led the Blugolds in scoring in 16 of 26 games this season. His 458 points this season was the 33rd highest in Eau Claire history.

Archambault also earns his first All-Conference recognition, earning honorable mention accolades. The 6-2 outside player led the team in assists (53) while finishing second in points per game (13.0), free-throw percentage (.800), steals (22), and minutes per game (31.0). He finished eighth in free-throw percentage while finishing in a tie for 11th place in the WIAC in scoring.

Archambault finished the season with 967 career points in three years and should score his 1,000th point early next season.

UW-La Crosse's Casey Taggatz earned the Max Sparger Scholar-Athlete award while River Falls head coach Rick Bowen earned conference Coach of the Year honors.

Complete All-WIAC Team