The men’s basketball team dropped its second straight WIAC contest, falling to UW-Stout 80-74 Wednesday night at Zorn Arena.

The Blugolds (5-4 overall, 1-3 WIAC) stormed out to a 15-5 lead after seven minutes of action, but gradually let their lead and momentum slip away.

“We came out and played well early, then we just went flat,” said junior guard Jason Larson, who scored 14 points for the Blugolds. “For somebody to come in and beat us like that, it’s not good.”

Stout (6-4, 3-1 WIAC) took its first lead with 2:46 left in the first half and went into intermission with a 34-30 advantage.

During the first eight minutes of the second half, neither team was able to take control of the game.

With the score tied at 49-49 at the 12:12 mark, the Blue Devils went on a pivotal 10-3 run to go up by seven with 9:42 remaining.

Over the next minute the Blugolds pulled to within three points, but never got any closer.

The ‘Golds, who lost 74-59 to Whitewater on Saturday, have dropped two straight for the first time this season.

Stout, meanwhile, won its third straight and snapped Eau Claire’s six-game win streak in the head-to-head series.

Coach Terry Gibbons said he attributes the loss to his team’s lack of aggressiveness on the offensive end and a few costly defensive lapses down the stretch.

“We had a 10-point lead and I thought we got a little lax,” Gibbons said. “We stopped attacking the basket like we did to get that lead.”

“With five or six minutes to go, we broke down defensively. We allowed them to get to the basket off of penetration just a little bit too easily.”

Another problem for the Blugolds was stopping senior Blue Devil center Steve Krueger, who was the game’s leading scorer with 25 points.

“He’s a big load,” Gibbons said of Krueger, who also grabbed 12 rebounds. “He moves well and he’s looking to score a lot more than in the past.”

Freshman guard Dan Archambault, who came into the game averaging eight points per game, poured in 20 to lead the ‘Golds.

Archambault said he will need to continue to step up as a scorer, especially when Larson, who made just four of 12 shot attempts from the field, is struggling.

“I feel like I probably need to score a little more, push the ball and make some more plays,” Archambault said.

Junior Andy Witte led the Blugolds with 10 rebounds and contributed 11 points.