Randy Bissen recorded his second double-double in as many nights as Buena Vista overcame a cold shooting performance for the win. Bissen scored 14 points and yanked down 11 rebounds to lead the Beavers to a 44-38 rebounding edge.
Both squads struggled from the field in the first half, which led to a Buena Vista 25-21 halftime edge. UW-Eau Claire hit on just seven of 30 shots while the Beavers connected on 10 of 31 attempts in the first half.
Leading 41-40 with 10:13 left in the game, Buena Vista went on a 13-4 run over the next four minutes to extend the advantage to 54-44. One turning point during that run was when UW-Eau Claire's bench was whistled for a technical foul. That led to Michael Cameron, who had eight points on the night, making two free throws to put the Beavers up by eight. Buena Vista's lead was never under six points the rest of the way.
Eric Wiebers led a balanced scoring attack with 15 points for Buena Vista. Jordan Campbell chipped in 13 while Brandon Kies added 10. The Beavers shot 36 percent (19 of 52) from the field and eight percent (1 of 12) from three point range.
Casey Drake tallied 12 to lead the Blugolds. Dan Beyer scored 11 and grabbed a team-best eight rebounds. Buck Smith contributed 10 points off of the bench. Will Jefferson, who had scored 23 points the night before against Coe College, was held to five. UW-Eau Claire was 35 percent (21 of 60) from the field and 21 percent (4 of 19) from three point range.
Buena Vista, now 2-0, travels to St. Peter, Minnesota to square off against Gustavus Adolphus on Tuesday. UW-Eau Claire, 1-1, next hosts Manchester on Wednesday.
Newspaper Box Score UW-Eau Claire vs Buena Vista University 11-20-04 7:00 at Storm Lake, IA At Storm Lake, IA BUENA VISTA UNIVERSITY 70, UW-EAU CLAIRE 60 UW-EAU CLAIRE (1-1) Casey Drake 4-17 4-6 12; Dan Beyer 4-8 2-2 11; Buck Smith 5-6 0-0 10; Dan Archambault 2-8 2-2 8; Marshall Watry 2-4 1-2 6; Will Jefferson 2-7 1-2 5; Tyler Birkel 1-2 2-2 4; Jesse Breidenbach 1-1 2-2 4; James Poehls 0-0 0-0 0; Chad Honl 0-1 0-0 0; Colin Walsh 0-2 0-0 0; Kale Proksch 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 21-60 14-18 60. BUENA VISTA UNIVERSITY (2-0) WIEBERS, Eric 4-13 6-6 15; BISSEN, Randy 4-7 6-10 14; CAMPBELL, Jordan 6-8 1-1 13; KIES, Brandon 2-6 6-7 10; CAMERON, Michael 1-7 6-6 8; FRANCIC, Nesha 2-2 0-0 4; GRIMM, Nolan 0-0 4-4 4; VIET, Reece 0-3 1-2 1; WITTRY, Matt 0-0 1-2 1; JOEKEL, Matt 0-4 0-0 0; FRANKLIN, Rahn 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 19-52 31-38 70. UW-Eau Claire................. 21 39 - 60 Buena Vista University........ 25 45 - 70 3-point goals-UW-Eau Claire 4-19 (Dan Archambault 2-5; Dan Beyer 1-3; Marshall Watry 1-2; Chad Honl 0-1; Colin Walsh 0-2; Kale Proksch 0-1; Will Jefferson 0-3; Casey Drake 0-2), Buena Vista University 1-12 (WIEBERS, Eric 1-7; KIES, Brandon 0-1; VIET, Reece 0-3; JOEKEL, Matt 0-1). Fouled out--UW-Eau Claire-Buck Smith, Buena Vista University-None. Rebounds-UW-Eau Claire 38 (Dan Beyer 8), Buena Vista University 44 (BISSEN, Randy 11). Assists-UW-Eau Claire 12 (Colin Walsh 2; Will Jefferson 2; Jesse Breidenbach 2; Dan Archambault 2; Buck Smith 2), Buena Vista University 9 (CAMERON, Michael 3). Total fouls-UW-Eau Claire 26, Buena Vista University 18. A-850