The UW-Eau Claire men’s basketball team fell to below .500 in the WIAC Saturday with a 72-65 loss to UW-La Crosse. The defeat puts Eau Claire at 10-8 overall and 4-5 in the WIAC.

The Blugolds took an early lead off a pair of layups by senior Dan Beyer. The two teams traded shots before the Eagles pulled ahead 14-13.

About halfway through the first period, the Blugolds tied the game up at 22, but La Crosse answered with an 8-0 run to take the lead again. The Eagles stayed ahead and sent the Blugolds to the locker room trailing 39-31 at the half.

Eau Claire attempted a comeback in the second half, pulling within three points several times but never regaining a lead.

“Some teams you have a good matchup with, and some teams you don’t have a good matchup for,” coach Terry Gibbons said. “And that’s kind of the way it is with La Crosse.”

Eau Claire actually outshot the Eagles 58 percent to 55.6 percent, but the Blugolds had 12 turnovers to La Crosse’s 7.

“The ultimate goal is to win the game,” Beyer said. “Every game in the conference is tough, and you have got to play the full 40 minutes.”