At 1 p.m. on Nov. 11, the Blugolds men’s basketball team tipped off their home opener in Zorn Arena. UW-Eau Claire played against St. Norbert, where they ended up on the losing end with the final score 76-64.

The Blugolds were up 39-38 at the half, but St. Norbert was able to come back and win against the Blugolds. 

“We did well with decision-making and certain key points in the game, we did an excellent job with our energy and effort there in the first and second half, but we got into a couple stretches there where we made some poor decisions and allowed them to go on a run,” head coach Matt Silverling said.

The Blugolds scored 25 points in the second half of the game, as opposed to St. Norbert’s 38 points. The Blugolds shot averages went down almost 30% from the first to the second half.

“Our personnel is very different. That’s probably the biggest thing. A lot of the stuff that we are doing is very similar to last year, but we had to change pieces, so things have changed,” Silvering said

With Five fewer players from last season, things have changed for the Blugolds basketball team. 

“We’ve never been in this position, and we have a lot of new people playing and other players taking on bigger roles. Things will meld soon, and that is honestly the biggest thing right now,” third-year student Carter Huschka said.

Carter Huschka played a prominent role in this game, scoring 21 points in 32 minutes.

“We’re excited about the way our guys competed tonight. I thought that they did a great job, and seeing some of these guys that got some extended minutes do some perfect things was amazing,”  Silvering said

Working together as a team was a big strong point of this team, according to Silvering

“Collectively, we have a good group of guys. They show up every day working hard, and we are still trying to figure out things with rotations, but those things will come as the season progresses.” Silvering said

With 24 games left in the season, Silvering said these minor issues “will work themselves out,”

“We’re all super high energy, everyone is melding together and it’s super fun out there. We were all so energized and still in the game until the end.’ Huschka said  We just have each other’s backs, and that’s the biggest part.”

“We’re just excited we are having fun showing up every day and working hard like coach said, and it shows. We’re all connected. Not one person in this group is left out-we’re all on the same level and having a blast out there.” Huschka said

The Blugolds look to take on Saint John’s University in their upcoming home game. The game will be played at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov 14. 

Voelker can be reached at [email protected].