Box Score EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – MSOE men's basketball was back on the court for the first time since a thrilling win against Luther one week ago. Looking for their third straight victory, a first half deficit was too much for the Red & White to overcome as the Raiders fell to UW-Eau Claire on the road on Saturday evening.
FINAL SCORE
MSOE RAIDERS – 60
UW-Eau Claire – 71
HOW IT HAPPENED
- MSOE (2-2) were unable to keep pace with UW-Eau Claire (4-2) in the first half which forced the Raiders to play catchup for most of the game. The Raiders made 32 percent of their shots, but the Blugolds made exactly half (16-32) and grew their lead to as much as 20 before having to settle for a 14 point advantage at the break.
- The Red & White turned things around in the second half though as they tried to fight their way back into the ballgame. They outscored UWEC by five and increased their shooting percentage by 13 points. Unfortunately, their first half deficit was just too big. MSOE was able to get within two points with 6:30 left to play but that would be as close as they'd get to tying things up.
- The Raiders never led in the matchup and were outscored 17-8 in second chance points in their nine point loss on Saturday.
RAIDER REMARKS
- The Raiders hadn't played the Blugolds since 2010 where they won 61-48 exactly 12 years ago to the day.
- Mason Dopirak continues his torrid pace to begin the season with his fourth straight double digit point total. The freshman is averaging 19.3 points per game.
- Today's game was the first time in 19 years that the Raiders had been coached by someone not named Brian Miller. Miller retired from coaching last Saturday with assistant Kevin Hurd taking over for the rest of the year on an interim basis.
MSOE STAT TRACKER
Points – Mason Dopirak (19)
Rebounds – Mason Dopirak & Francisco Salazar (50)
Assists – Chase Cummings (3)
Steals – Matus Dopirak & Chase Cummings (2)
Blocks – Francisco Salazar (1)
WHO'S ON DECK
The Raiders will open up NACC play a week from tomorrow when they take on Illinois Tech at home on Sunday, December 4th. Game time from the Kern Center is slated for 3:30 pm.
For up-to-the-minute MSOE Raiders news, visit us at www.go-raiders.com. You can also follow the Red & White on Twitter @MSOE_Raiders and @msoe_raiders on Instagram.
