EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team had a tough time against Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.), falling 61-47 on the final day of the 44th Annual UW-Eau Claire Holiday Classic on Ken Anderson Court in Zorn Arena today.
For the first six minutes, the game was close and the Blugolds had a narrow lead (7-6) six just over six minutes into the game.
But Gustavus then went on a 14-0 run to get up by 13 points (21-8) and the Blugolds never recovered. Gustavus got up by as many as 19 points in the first half (32-13) and led 34-19 at halftime.
The Blugolds scored the first five points of the second half, all from Lewis Mau (So.-Colfax, Wis.), to get the Blugolds to within 10.
Gustavus maintained a double-digit lead most of the rest of the night. Eau Claire got to within nine (51-42) after a Nick Craggs (Sr.-Kimberly, Wis.) free throw with less than five minutes remaining.
Mau led Eau Claire in scoring with 17 points while Craggs recorded a double-double by pulling down a game-high 12 rebounds and scoring 14 points.
Eau Claire outrebounded Gustavus 36-28 but committed more turnovers 16-10. Gustavus converted the turnovers into 20 points.
Eau Claire drops to 6-7 on the year while Gustavus improves to 4-5.
The Blugolds will be back in action Thursday when they travel to Menomonie to face UW-Stout. The game is set to begin at 6 p.m.
-KM-