UW-Stout 59, College of St. Scholastica 54DEPERE (December 30, 2014) - Trailing at halftime, UW-Stout went on a 13-4 run to open the second half and went on to a 59-54 win over St. Scholastica in the consolation game of the Nicolet National Bank Holiday Tournament at St. Norbert College Tuesday.
Trailing 30-29, five different players keyed the Blue Devils' push out of the locker room, including back-to-back baskets by freshman
John Lahti (Fr, Turtle Lake) to give Stout a 37-32 lead at 15:10 of the second half. During the eight minute run, Stout got baskets by
Reggie Kujak (Jr, Blair),
Hank Kujak (Jr, Blair),
Jalen Patterson (Fr, Lauderdale, Minn) and a 3-point basket by
Brett Ahsenmacher (So, Annandale, Minn).
Stout (3-8) held a 14 point lead with five minutes left when St. Scholastica (3-7) would cut the lead to as little as three points with 50 seconds remaining. A basket by
Sam Ortmann (Fr, Buffalo, Minn) and two free throws by
Isaac Elliott (Fr, Stevens Point) gave Stout a seven point, 59-52 lead with seven seconds remaining. The Saints scored a layup at the buzzer for the final score.
The teams traded leads in the first half, with nine different lead changes and nine tied scores. Ahsenmacher, who was named to the all-tournament team, had his second consecutive strong first half, scoring 10 points in the first half on his way to a game-high 13 points.
Reggie Kujak finished the night with a career-best 11 points. Patterson also racked up a career-best with 10 points.
Marc Patterson led St. Scholastica with 10 points. The Saints held a 36-27 advantage in rebounds and scored 14-of-17 from the line, compared to 8-of-19 for Stout.
The Blue Devils return to conference action when they travel to UW-Platteville, Saturday, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m. Stout will host UW-Eau Claire, Wednesday, Jan. 7 at 7 p.m.
