'Golds grab win by single point
Men pick up first WIAC victory 57-56 over UW-River Falls
DJ Slater
Issue date: 12/8/05 Section: Sports
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His eyes remained wide and his face tense as he kept the team motivated, shouting commands to each player. Behind him, the screams and cheers escalated as each player took their positions on the court. UW-Eau Claire led 57-56 with 20.9 seconds remaining - but UW-River Falls had possession.
"We didn't want to foul a shooter," Ryan said, especially with River Falls shooting 50 percent on the night and hitting all its free throws.
As River Falls guard Hans Hoeg attempted to pump fake the ball, Ryan nicked a piece of it. Ryan immediately lunged forward, securing the ball in his hands.
"I saw Dan Beyer down the court and I kind of wanted to throw it to him," he said. "But you know, there's three seconds left so I just wanted to keep it."
The Blugolds held off one more River Falls shot attempt following Ryan's missed free throw and gained their prize - their first WIAC victory of the 2005-2006 season.
"This is just huge for us to come out and get this win," sophomore Jared Bardon said. "It feels great. We need this (game) bad."
Bardon led Eau Claire (4-3, 1-2 WIAC) with 20 points, while dishing out four assists and pulling down three rebounds. Ryan followed with 10 points and four assists, while junior Dan Ottney put in 9 points.
The story of the first half and midway through the second dealt with River Falls putting the Blugolds in a hole and sinking them further into it. The Falcons nailed 14 out of 24 shots from the floor and 6 out of 8 from behind the arc, while the 'Golds struggled to top 33 percent in both categories.
Even when Eau Claire tried to gain momentum, River Falls killed it by hitting its 3-pointers. The Blugolds soon found themselves trailing by 18 with 10:29 left in the game.
"We played bad probably for about 33 of the 40 minutes," freshman B.J. Vetterkind said. "I was starting to think we were going to lose."
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