EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The UW-Eau Claire men's basketball fell to UW-Platteville 71-56 on Ken Anderson Court in Zorn Arena tonight.

In the opening half, the Blugolds led after hitting the game's first basket but Platteville then outscored the Blugolds 20-6 to get up by 12 (20-8) just over nine minutes into the half. The Pioneers held a double digit lead the rest of the night after that.

Platteville steadily increased its lead throughout the first half, working its way to a 20-point lead by halftime.

In the second half, the Pioneers used a 17-4 run to get up by 33 points (59-26) just over five minutes into the half, their largest lead of the night. Down by 30 with eight minutes remaining, the Blugolds outscored the Pioneers 23-8 the rest of the way, cutting the deficit to 15 points by the end.

Leading the Blugolds in scoring was Kurtis Moody (So.-Pequot Lakes, Minn.) with 12 points while Lewis Mau (Jr.-Colfax, Wis.) had 11 and Adam Hjelter (So.-Hutchinson, Minn.) had 10. Mau also led the way in rebounding for Eau Claire with six, tying a game-high.

As a team, the Blugolds shot 39.7 percent (23-for-58) from the field while Platteville led the game shooting 57.1 percent (24-for-42). Platteville had an 8-1 advantage in three-pointers made. The Pioneers narrowly outrebounded the Blugolds 30-29.

Eau Claire falls to 4-5 overall and 0-3 in the conference while Platteville improves to 7-2 on the season and 3-0 in WIAC play.

The Blugolds will be at Ashford University (Iowa) on Saturday for the final game before the Holiday break. Action will get underway at 7 p.m.

-KM-