Blugolds fall short at St. Olaf
Nov. 17—Coming off a loss in a 71-70 double overtime thriller at Saint John's (Minn.) last Saturday, the UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team returned to the court Wednesday night on the road against St. Olaf.
It was another close game for the Blugolds, but they came up short, losing 73-69.
St. Olaf was in control of the game early, leading 23-11 nine minutes into the first half. Then the Blugolds responded, going on a 20-10 run to go to halftime only down by two, 33-31
Brock Voigt, senior forward from Sun Prairie, WI, led the Blugolds in scoring at the half, going 5-9 with 10 points.
St. Olaf was hot from behind the arc in the first half, going 5-12 on three-pointers versus UW-EC's 2-10 mark.
UW-Eau Claire tied the game 33-33 right away to start the second half on a driving layup from David Ijadimbola, junior guard from Brooklyn Park, MN.
On the next possession, Spencer Page, senior forward from Rice Lake, WI, forced a St. Olaf turnover and made a three for the Blugolds on the other end, giving UW-EC the lead, 36-33.
UW-EC and St. Olaf were neck and neck until the midpoint of the second half, as a driving layup by Voigt for his first second half points tied the game at 53 with 10:19 remaining.
St. Olaf responded with a 7-0 run, going up 60-53 with just under nine minutes remaining.
About six minutes later, the Blugolds were able to narrow their deficit to 64-61, as Alex Voigt, senior forward from Sun Prairie, WI, scored off of a steal by Carter Huschka, junior forward from Farmington, MN.
St. Olaf then scored on each of their next two possessions to go up 67-61, going 1-2 from the free throw line and making a layup.
The Blugolds then had their chance at the free throw line, as Voigt went 0-2 followed by an Ijadimbola rebound. Ijadimbola was fouled on a put-back and only made 1-2 from the line for the Blugolds to trail 67-62.
The Blugolds managed to narrow St. Olaf's lead to three one more time, as Cade Hall, junior guard from Mauston, WI, was fouled on a made layup and sunk his free throw for a three point play to bring the score to 68-65.
The Blugolds then needed a stop on defense, which they did not get, as they sent St. Olaf to the free throw line on their next two possessions, falling behind 72-65.
Ijadimbola made two more baskets down the stretch for the Blugolds, but it was too little too late, as the Blugolds fell 73-69.
Ijadimbola led the Blugolds in scoring for the game, scoring 18 points on 7-9 from the floor. Hall scored 14 points and Brock Voigt ended with 12 points. Voigt missed a few critical free throws down the stretch and finished 0-7 from the free throw line.
The Blugolds struggled shooting from outside all game, finishing 4-23 on three-pointers. They also shot 9-19 from the free throw line as a team.
The Blugolds played tight on defense to stay in the game, forcing 14 turnovers including eight steals.
UW-Eau Claire returns to their home court for their next game, as they face the University of Northwestern-St. Paul at Zorn Arena on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m.
