Close, but not quite.

The UW-Eau Claire men’s basketball team grew quite familiar with those words during the 2012-2013 season that saw them miss out on the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament for the fourth consecutive season.

While the Blugolds fell short of making the tournament, Head Coach Matt Siverling said he was pleased with his team’s effort every night throughout the season.

“It was disappointing (not making the tournament)” Siverling said. “But I think that we got a lot better as the year went on and that’s all you can ask for.”

In a loaded WIAC that saw two teams make the NCAA tournament, the Blugolds were swept by four out of the top five teams in the conference en route to a 10-15 (4-12) record. However, they were within single digits in at least one of their losses to those respective teams. Senior Andy Kleist said being so close in games against quality opponents was the most frustrating part of the season.

“It wasn’t that we weren’t there,” he said. “It’s just that we couldn’t finish, and that’s hard to accept.”

The Blugolds struggled with finding offense outside of the perimeter. When the Blugolds hit 3-pointers, they were a tough match-up. Senior point guard Jordan Petersen said the lack of post offense from everybody offset their strong outside shooting.

“Whether that was driving and getting to the lane or just dumping it off in the post, it was an area we struggled,” he said.

However, any team can get hot at some point in the season, and the Blugolds were no exception. During a three game stretch in January, they won three conference games in a row, including a ferocious comeback at fourth place UW-La Crosse. The Blugolds were down by 15 points in the second half but stormed back to take the lead with under a minute to play.

“We just kept battling and battling, and by the end we were able to pull it out,” Kleist said. “That was a big highlight.”

The Blugolds also had their fair share of individual success, as two members of the squad, Petersen and sophomore Lewis Mau, earned honorable mention all-WIAC recognition. Siverling believes those two accolades are an honor, but the team’s strength wasn’t so much relying on those two, but being balanced up and down the lineup.

“It’s a great accomplishment anytime you get recognized by the league coaches,” he said. “But I think that this year was more of a team effort.”

Senior Nick Craggs was one of those players that balanced out the Blugolds. He was second on the team in scoring behind Mau and first in rebounding. He became a go-to guy in the Blugolds’ offense and gave them energy on that side of the ball.

“That was a focal point during the year,” Craggs said. “I wanted to be more of a leader on the court and for the guys.”

Siverling said group cohesiveness is a very important component of basketball, and the Blugolds certainly did not struggle in that department. The core group of seniors, Petersen, Craggs, Kleist, Dustin Kalien and Zach Wolmedorf, have had to endure three coaches in as many seasons, but they all stuck together.

“If anything, it might have made (that core group) a little closer,” Petersen said. “It’s something that we all kind of bond around.”

That group of seniors shared a bond with the rest of the team, and junior point guard Eric Effertz, a transfer that followed Siverling from UW-Superior to Eau Claire, said the tightness of the team stood out to him over any one game as his highlight of the season.

“It was being together more than anything,” he said. “That’s all you can ask for.”

A strong group will return next season, led by Mau and Effertz. And for the first time in two offseasons, the team will not be going through a coaching change, something that will only help them improve before next November.

“Everybody knows their role now and what they need to get better at,” Effertz said. “You got to focus on those things and it’ll all come together.”

While the team fell short of its goals, Siverling thinks fans should be optimistic about the future. He is excited to write the next the chapter in the tradition-rich Blugold men’s basketball program.

“Fans can expect a team that’s going to go and work hard,” he said. “We’ll continue to improve and hopefully we’ll get to a point where we’re not only making the conference tournament, but winning it.”