MBB Preview: Blue Devils take on Bethany Lutheran before WIAC play

 at UW-La Crosse: Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio

THIS WEEK'S GAMES: The Blue Devils (2-4, 0-0 WIAC) will travel to Mankato, Minn., to play at Bethany Lutheran College, (0-4) Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m., then will open the WIAC schedule when they travel to UW-La Crosse (3-3, 0-1 WIAC), Saturday, Dec. 6 at 3 p.m.

EDDIE ANDRIST INTERVIEWS: Throughout the season, Jimmie Kaska of Sports Radio 1400 AM will speak with men's basketball head coach Eddie Andrist. Listed are each of the interviews throughout the season. This week's Interview | Listen to Interviews

WEBCASTS: All UW-Stout home games will be available in a live video stream by Blue Devil Video, with Sam Ripp on the call. WMEQ 880 Radio, with Pete Knutson, Jimmie Kaska or Jake Bostrom, will broadcast and provide a live audio stream of away conference games/. Stout will provide Live Stats for all home games. Check the Blue Devil Webcast page or on the schedule page to see broadcasts and Live Stats available when Stout is on the road.

CAREER STATS: Be sure to scroll to the bottom of this page to check out the UW-Stout career high for points, rebounds, and assists of each Blue Devil player.

THE BLUE DEVILS : To say the Blue Devils are a young team is an understatement. With 13 freshmen on the squad and 14 players new to the program, this is long-time coach Eddie Andrist's youngest collegiate team ever. The Blue Devils return five players who have worn a Blue Devil uniform before this year - senior Jarvis Ragland, juniors Hank Kujak and Reggie Kujak and sophomores Brett Ahsenmacher and Alex Hammond. Andrist plans to use a faster paced offense this year, and rotate a lot of players throughout the game. Ragland has been the team's leader on the scoreboard. In each of the last five games, he has scored at least 20 points, including a career-best 25 point effort against Bethany Lutheran. Ragland is averaging 20.8 points and is pulling down a team best 6.3 rebounds, thanks to a 15 rebound effort against Betnany. John Keefe lit up the board against Bethany, scoring 30 points and is now averaging 11.7 points. Ahsenmacher is averaging 11.0 points.   The Kujak brothers have joined the team since the conclusion of the football season, with both pulling starts in the last three games. The starts have been distributed throughout the lineup as coach Andrist has put out four different starting lineups over the six games. Only Ragland and freshman Sam Ortmann have started all five games.  | Stout Season Preview | 2014-15 Statistics

STOUT'S LAST TIME OUT:  John Keefe missed only two shots all night and put up 30 points 19 points over his career best as the Blue Devils defeated Bethany Lutheran, Wednesday, 90-80. Keefe was 11-of-13 from the field, 5-of-7 from 3-point range and 3-of-3 from the line. Jarvis Ragland rolled off his fifth straight 20-plus point game, knocking down 25 points. Off the boards, Ragland collected a career-best 15 caroms  The Blue Devils won the opening game of the UW-Stout Thanksgiving Turkey Shootout with an 84-69 win over Wartburg College, Nov. 29. Stout lost to the NAIA's second ranked team, Cardinal Stritch, 87-68, in the championship game of the tournament, Nov. 30. | Bethany Lutheran Story and Stats.

SCOUTING BETHANY LUTHERAN COLLEGE:  The Vikings are still looking for that first win of the season. Bethany is coming off an 8-17 season and a 7-7 finish in league play that landed them in fifth, and the odd man out for qualifying to the four-team UMAC tournament. The team was picked to finish fifth again this year. The Vikings are similar to the Blue Devils in that they have a lot of new faces to the program, with 13 newcomers on the 18-man roster. Nick Sanborn leads the team in scoring with 9.3 points. Nate Chadderon is the team's leader off the glass, pulling down 5.3 caroms. Luke Roddy, an honorable mention all-UMAC pick last season, is averaging 4.0 assists. The Vikings are being outscored, 82.5-58.3.  | Vikings Statistics

LAST TIME OUT: Bethany began a five-game homestand Saturday as they entertained Wisconsin Lutheran for a men's basketball non-conference contest. The Warriors built a 19-point halftime lead en route to a 74-60 win over the Vikings. Despite being down big at the break, the Vikings staged a nice second half rally to cut WLC's lead to single digits halfway through the half. The Warriors still had their 19 point lead at 55-36 with 14:56 remaining before Bethany went on a 12-0 spurt to pull within seven at 55-48 with 11:05 to go. All Bethany points during the run were scored by newcomers. Zach Brandts, Melvin Kromah, Nate Chadderdon, and Neil Eichten all scored with scoring six of the 12 points. WLC's Christian Walz stopped the run with a 3 as the Warriors proceeded to score the game's next seven points to rebuild their lead to 14 and their lead remained in double digits the rest of the way. Eichten led BLC with 14 points on 7-for-10 shooting. DJ Escamilla led four Warrior players in double digits with 17 points. | Story and Statistics

LAST TIME THEY MET:  Stout holds a 2-1 record in the series, with the Vikings winning the last time they met, 84-83, Nov. 21, 2008, at the Wartburg College Tournament. The Blue Devils gave up a 16 point lead and lost on a last second 3-point shot by Jeff Zimmerman. | Game Statistics

SCOUTING UW-LA CROSSE:  The Eagles have alternated wins and losses in the early part of the season and will host UW-Platteville, Wednesday, Dec. 3 to open their conference season before closing out a four-game homestand by hosting UW-Stout. The Eagles bring back nine letterwinners for a program that has earned double-digit conference wins the last two seasons for the first time since 2005-07.  In 2013-14, the Eagles made a school record 249 three-point field goals  and this year extended their stretch of making at least one three-point field goal for 204 consecutive games and 331 of the last 332 overall. Cale Zuiker is averaging 22.4 points per contest and Skylar Cameron 13.0 points. Zuiker is pulling down 7.2 rebounds. The Eagles are outscoring their opponents, 65.8-60.4. La Crosse is picked to finish fifth in the WIAC. | Eagles Statistics

LAST TIME OUT: La Crosse men's basketball team fell 57-56 to UW-Platteville Wednesday night in Mitchell Hall in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) opener for both teams.  Cale Zuiker led the Eagles with 11 points while Jared Staege finished with 10 points off the bench.  Staege also had six rebounds.  Schmidt finished with nine points while Finco and Skylar Cameron each had seven points.  Kenny Finco had a team-high seven rebounds.   Story and Statistics | La Crosse never trailed in their first-ever meeting with Central College, scoring the first 14 points of the game, on their way to a 70-54 win. Central (Iowa) missed its first 10 shots from the field before Nile Eckrmann's layup with 13:47 remaining in the first half. The Dutch used a 13-3 run to cut the lead to 17-13 with 10:31 left. Cale Zuiker recorded his first career double-double with 18 points and career-high 13 rebounds.  Jared Staege finished with 11 points off the bench while Trent Schmidt added 10 points. | Story and Statistics

LAST SEASON WHEN STOUT AND LA CROSSE MET:  The teams split last season,with each team winning on their home floor. The Blue Devils won the first game, January 15, at Johnson Fieldhouse, 59-57, and the Eagles took the February 19 meeting at Mitchell Hall, 63-55. In the opener, Adam Wadzinski hit a 3-pointer as time ran down to notch the win. In La Crosse, the Eagles went on a 12-3 run to close out the win and lock up the third seed in the WIAC tournament. | Game One Story and Statistics | Game Two Story and Statistics

AWARDS AND HONORS:   Jarvis Ragland was selected as the UW-Stout Northwestern Mutual athlete of the week, Dec. 1 and as the WIAC Athlete of the Week Dec. 2 after averaging 22.5 points during the UW-Stout Thanksgiving Turkey Shootout.

TEAM CAPTAINS: Blue Devil team captain for the 2014-15 season is Brett Ahsenmacher.

THE COACHES: UW-Stout: Eddie Andrist (184-181 at Stout, 434-371 overall) is in his 15th year as the coach of the Blue Devils, and his 26th overall in the collegiate ranks. Andrist led the Blue Devils to their first NCAA Division III appearance five seasons ago when Stout advanced to the second round. Andrist coached at Mount Senario for 11 seasons and won three national championships. Andrist spent two stints coaching international basketball, working with the country of Qatar. | Bethany Lutheran College: Greg Holzhueter begins his second season as head coach of the Bethany Lutheran men's basketball program in 2014-15. Prior to becoming head coach, Holzhueter was on the Vikings staff for two seasons as the lead assistant and recruiting coordinator. Bethany reached the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) championship game in each of those years which included the program's first regular season UMAC title in 2011-12.. UW-La Crosse:  Ken Koelbl (163-130) is in his 12th season at La Crosse. Koelbl has led UW-L to seven overall winning seasons in the last nine years.

CONFERENCES: Stout is a member of the nine team Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) along with UW-La Crosse, UW-Eau Claire, UW-Stevens Point, UW-Superior, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Platteville, UW-Whitewater and UW-River Falls. Superior will leave the conference after the 2014-15 season.

UP NEXT:  The Blue Devils will host UW-Stevens Point, Wednesday, Dec. 10, then will be off until they travel to the University of Northwestern in St. Paul, Minn., Saturday, Dec. 20 for a 5 p.m. contest.

UW-Stout 2014-15 Individual Season Highs (Updated Dec. 5, 2014)

Points: 30, John Keefe vs. Bethany Lutheran, Dec. 3, 2014
3-Pointers Made: 5, John Keefe vs. Bethany Lutheran, Dec. 3, 2014
Rebounds: 15, Jarvis Ragland vs. Bethany Lutheran, Dec. 3, 2014
Assists: 7, Hank Kujak vs. Wartburg College, Nov. 29, 2014
Steals: 3, (4x) Hank Kujak vs. Bethany Lutheran, Dec. 3, 2014; John Keefe vs. Viterbo University, Nov. 19, 2014; Brett Ahsenmacher vs. Ripon College, Nov. 15, 2014; D'Marcco Patrick vs. Coe College, Nov. 16, 2014

UW-Stout 2014-15 Team Season Highs (Updated Dec. 5, 2014)

Points: 90 vs. Bethany Lutheran, Dec. 3, 2014
Field Goals Made: 35 vs. Bethany Lutheran, Dec. 3, 2014
Field Goal Percentage: .547 (35-64) vs. Bethany Lutheran, Dec. 3, 2014
3-Pointers Made: 12 vs. Ripon College, Nov. 15, 2014
Free Throws Made: 28 vs. Coe College, Nov. 16, 2014
Free Throw Percentage: .800 (16-20) vs. Cardinal Stritch, Nov. 30, 2014
Rebounds: 42 (2x) vs. Bethany Lutheran, Dec. 3, 2014;  vs. Wartburg College, Nov. 29, 2014
Assists: 16 (2x) vs. Bethany Lutheran, Dec. 3, 2014; vs. Wartburg College, Nov. 29, 2014
Steals: 11 vs. Coe College, Nov. 16, 2014


UW-Stout Career Bests (updated Dec. 5, 2014)

Jarvis Ragland - #3
Points: 25 vs. Bethany Lutheran, Dec. 3, 2014
Rebounds: 15 vs. Bethany Lutheran, Dec. 3, 2014
Assists: 4 vs. Ripon College, Nov. 15, 2014

John Keefe - #4
Points: 30 vs. Bethany Lutheran, Dec. 3, 2014
Rebounds: 5 vs. Coe College, Nov. 16, 2014
Assists: 4 vs. Ripon College,Nov. 15, 2014

Mac Oreskovic - #5
Points: 2 vs. Cardinal Stritch, Nov. 30, 2014
Rebounds: 2 (2x) vs. Cardinal Stritch, Nov. 30, 2014;  vs. Viterbo University, Nov. 19, 2014:
Assists: 1 vs. Cardinal Stritch, Nov. 30, 2014

D'Marcco Patrick - #10
Points: 15 vs. Coe College, Nov. 16, 2014
Rebounds: 2 vs. Wartburg College, Nov. 29, 2014
Assists: 2 vs. Wartburg College, Nov. 29, 2014

Zac Doll - #11
Points: 3 vs. Cardinal Stritch, Nov. 30, 2014
Rebounds: 3 vs. Cardinal Stritch, Nov. 30, 2014
Assists: 1 vs. Cardinal Stritch, Nov. 30, 2014

Sam Ortmann - #12
Points: 8 vs. Ripon College, Nov. 15, 2014
Rebounds: 5 vs. Viterbo University, Nov. 19, 2014:
Assists: 3 vs. Bethany Lutheran, Dec. 3, 2014

Brett Ahsenmacher - #13
Points: 18 vs. Ripon College, Nov. 15, 2014
Rebounds: 4 vs. Plattsburgh State, Dec. 30,, 2013
Assists: 3 vs. Bethany Lutheran, Dec. 3, 2014

Isaac Elliott - #14
Points: 11 vs. Wartburg College, Nov. 29, 2014
Rebounds: 3 vs. Wartburg College, Nov. 29, 2014
Assists: 1 vs. Coe College, Nov. 16, 2014

Jalen Patterson - #15
Points: 9 vs. Ripon College, Nov. 15, 2014
Rebounds: 3 (2x) vs. Coe College, Nov. 16, 2014; vs. Ripon College, Nov. 15, 2014
Assists: 3 vs. Ripon College, Nov. 15, 2014

Cory Speer - #23
Points: 5 vs. Ripon College, Nov. 15, 2014
Rebounds: 3 vs. Ripon College, Nov. 15, 2014
Assists: 5 vs. Viterbo University, Nov. 19, 2014:

Colton Williams - #24
Points: 6 vs. Cardinal Stritch, Nov. 30, 2014
Rebounds: 4 vs. Coe College, Nov. 16, 2014
Assists: x

Bobby Green - #31
Points: 1 vs. Cardinal Stritch, Nov. 30, 2014
Rebounds: 1 (2x) vs. Bethany Lutheran, Dec. 3, 2014;  vs. Cardinal Stritch, Nov. 30, 2014
Assists: x

Hank Kujak - #33
Points: 12 vs. Wartburg College, Dec. 1, 2013
Rebounds: 7 vs. Wartburg College, Nov. 29, 2014
Assists: 7 vs. Wartburg College, Nov. 29, 2014

Reggie Kujak - #32
Points: 9 vs. Bethany Lutheran, Dec. 3, 2014
Rebounds: 7 vs. Bethany Lutheran, Dec. 3, 2014
Assists: 1 (2x) vs. Bethany Lutheran, Dec. 3, 2014; vs. Viterbo University, Nov. 19, 2014:

Alex Hammond - #35
Points: 5 vs. UW-Oshkosh, January 12, 2013
Rebounds: 1 vs. Northland College, Nov. 24, 2011
Assists: 1 vs. Northland College, Nov. 24, 2011

John Lahti - #42
Points: 10 (2x) vs. Bethany Lutheran, Dec. 3, 2014; vs. Wartburg College, Nov. 29, 2014
Rebounds: 6 vs. Cardinal Stritch, Nov. 30, 2014
Assists: 1 vs. Ripon College, Nov. 15, 2014

Jacob Lindgren - #44
Points: 6 vs. Cardinal Stritch, Nov. 30, 2014
Rebounds: 1 (4x) vs. Bethany Lutheran, Dec. 3, 2014; vs. Cardinal Stritch, Nov. 30, 2014; vs. Viterbo University, Nov. 19, 2014: vs. Coe College, Nov. 16, 2014
Assists: x

The Last Time...(updated December 5, 2014)

A Stout Individual...
Scored 30 points: 30, John Keefe vs. Bethany Lutheran, (12/3/14)
Scored 25-29 points: 25, Jarvis Ragland vs. Bethany Lutheran (12/3/14)
Recorded 15 rebounds: 15, Jarvis Ragland vs. Bethany Lutheran, (12/3/14)
Recorded 10 assists: 11, Erik Olson vs. UW-Stevens Point (2/13/13)
Recorded 6 steals: 8, by Jerrel Enerson-Matthews vs. Bethany Lutheran (11/21/08)

A Stout Team...
Had five players score in double digits:  vs. Wartburg College, Nov. 29, 2014 - Jarvis Ragland (24), Isaac Elliott (11), John Keefe (10), Brett Ahsenmacher (10), John Lahti (10)
Had four players score in double digits: vs. UW-Eau Claire, Jan. 25, 2014 - Alex Oman (26), Jimmy Whitehead (21), Josh Kosloske (12), Jay Higgins (10).
Scored 105 points: 109, vs. Crown College (2/15/11)
Scored 100-104 points: 102 vs. Silver Lake College (2/17/2010)
Recorded 60 rebounds: 64, vs. Concordia-Texas (12/11/2011)
Recorded 55-59 rebounds: 56 vs. Northland College (11/24/12)
Recorded 25 assists: 25, vs. Silver Lake College (2/17/2010)
Won 10 or more games in a row: 10, 2005-06 season
Lost 5 or more games in a row: 7, 2011-12 season
Was held to 40 or fewer points in game: 40, vs. Plattsburgh State (12/30/13)