MBB Preview: Blue Devils host alumni game and UW-Platteville Saturday

at. UW-River Falls:  Live Video | Live Stats | Live Audio                vs. UW-Platteville:   Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio

THIS WEEK'S GAMES: The Blue Devils (3-14, 0-8 WIAC) entertain UW-Platteville (12-5, 5-3 WIAC) Saturday, Jan. 24 at 3 p.m. in Johnson Fieldhouse to begin the second round of conference play.  The Pioneers are currently in a tie for third place in the WIAC and are bringing a two game winning streak into Johnson Fieldhouse. The Blue Devils are looking for their first conference win. The annual Alumni Game will be played at 11 a.m. in Johnson Fieldhouse and at halftime of the Stout/Platteville game, the Blue Devils will honor the 1974-75 team that won the Wisconsin State University Conference (WSUC) title 40 years ago.

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, Jay Fahl or Jake Bostrom, will broadcast and provide a live audio stream of away conference games and a select number of home 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.

A LOOK AT THE BLUE DEVILS : Jarvis Ragland continues to lead not only the Blue Devils in scoring, but the entire WIAC with a 19.6 points per game mark. Ragland is shooting at a 52.0 percent mark (104-200). Ragland has scored in double figures in every game he has played this season, with a career-high of 25 points and a season-low of 10 points, that coming against UW-Superior.  Ragland has been the team's leading scorer in 12 games this season, and has been the team's leading rebounder nine times. The team's lone senior is the leader off the glass, pulling down 6.7 boards, ranking third in the WIAC. Ragland has had the team's only double-doubles of the season, tossing in 25 points and pulling down 15 rebounds against Bethany Lutheran, 18 points and 10 rebounds against UW-Whitewater and 21 points and 11 rebounds against UW-Oshkosh. All of Ragland's double-doubles have come this year. Ragland also has 22 assists, among the team leaders.

Brett Ahsenmacher scored a career-best 22 points against John Carroll University at the St. Norbert Tournament and is currently averaging 10.2 points. Ahsenmacher is second on the team in assists with 27.  Freshman John Keefe, who had a 30 point outburst in early December, is averaging 6.4 points and leads the team in assists with 28. It appears as if the Kujak brothers have been lost for the season. Reggie Kujak went down with a wrist injury against UW-Eau Claire and Hank Kujak went down with a leg injury against UW-Oshkosh. Hank was the team leadin in assists with 26 and just recently set a career-best in points scored, tallying 17 against UW-Whitewater. Reggie Kujak had been roaming the paint and will finish the season with a 4.7 rebounds per game average.  Freshman Jalen Patterson has played himself into the starting lineup and bumped his scoring average to 6.4 points. Freshman guard Sam Ortmann has dished off 20 assists. Freshmen Ortmann, John Lahti and Isaac Elliott are the only Blue Devils to have played in all 17 games this season. Stout is being outscored, 77.8-68.2.. | Stout Season Preview | 2014-15 Statistics

STOUT'S LAST TIME OUT:  The Blue Devils shot 50.8 percent from the field, but came up short at the free throw line, and lost at UW-River Falls, 88-78, Wednesday. Stout connected on 32-of-63 shots from the floor, but only 5-of-17 from the line. The Falcons shot 58.5 percent from the floor (31-53) but held an advantage at the stripe, hitting 18-of-22. Jarvis Ragland led Stout with 18 points. Isaac Elliott scored a collegiate-best 14 points and John Keefe added 13 points.. | River Falls Story and Box Score


WSUC CHAMPIONS: After a pedestrian 9-7 start to the season and a 4-3 start in the WSUC, the 1974-75 team turned into what various news outlets referred to as "The Miracle Team." The Blue Devils rolled off nine straight conference wins, capped off by an electrifying 69-68 win over UW-Eau Claire in the final regular season game. Ken Obermueller, who would go on to gain all-conference honors, scored 26 points as the Blue Devils clinched the conference title in front of a jam-packed Johnson Fieldhouse, avenging an earlier season loss to the preseason conference favorites. The Blue Devils advanced to the NAIA Tournament, downing Lakeland, 101-82, before seeing their season come to an end with a 63-62 loss to UW-Parkside. The Blue Devils' only conference losses that season came early in the season to UW-La Crosse, UW-Eau Claire and UW-Whitewater. The Blue Devils began their final push with a 61-55 win over UW-Platteville. The Pioneers came into Johnson Fieldhouse in February as the conference leaders, bu tthe Blue Devils pushed them away, 80-64, then thrashed UW-Superior before the deciding game with Eau Claire. Stout and Platteville ended the season with identical 13-3 WSUC records and were declared co-champions, but Stout won both match-ups. Members of the team and coaching staff will be honored at halftime of Saturday's game. | 1974-75 Roster Sheet and Results


SCOUTING UW-PLATTEVILLE:  Jim Stocki is the Pioneers' only player in the top 10 of the WIAC in scoring, tallying 13.9 points to rank ninth, but Jake Manning (13.3) and Boston Johnson (11.6) join him in the top 15, Manning at 12th and Johnson at 15th. Manning is averaging a team-best 6.3 rebounds, ranking sixth in the WIAC. The Pioneers come into this weekend's game on a two-game winning streak, dowing UW-Superior and UW-Eau Claire. During the previous week, the Pioneers saw a five game winning streak snapped with losses to UW-Stevens Point and a home loss to UW-River Falls. The Pioneers are outscoring their opponents, 70.1-62.5. | Pioneer Statistics

THE PIONEERS LAST TIME OUT: Following a red hot 10-0 lead, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball team never lost the lead as the Pioneers ran off with a 79-66 victory over the UW-Eau Claire Blugolds Wednesday at Bo Ryan Court. Starting the game going 7-8 from the field, the Pioneers biggest lead of the night came 10 minutes into the first half as they controlled all aspects of the game with a dominant 28-6 showing. Manning scored 21 points and Stocki added 16 points as the Pioneers shot out to a 40-29 halftime lead.  | Story and Box Score

LAST TIME STOUT AND PLATTEVILLE MET:  After missing the last two games due to injury, Jarvis Ragland picked up where he left off, scoring 23 points, but it wouldn't be enough as UW-Stout fell at UW-Platteville, 75-56, January 3 at Bo Ryan Court. The Pioneers had four players in double digits, led by Jim Stocki's 23 points. Boston Johnson had 12 points and Cory Vasseen and Jake Manning each scored 11 points.  | Game Story and Statistics


SCOUTING UW-RIVER FALLS: The Falcons put together a winning streak of four games in late November and through early December, but since a win over UW-La Crosse on Dec. 10, River Falls has managed only one win over the last seven outings...and none of the losses have been by more than seven points and four have been by four points or less. The Falcons' lone win during that stretch was a 78-71 win at UW-Platteville on Jan. 10. The Falcons are getting 13.4 points and 6.8 rebounds from Jon Christensen, a 6-6 forward. Guard Grant Erickson is dropping in 10.3 points per contest and is second in the WIAC in assists, averaging 4.63 dishes per game. The Falcons are outscoring their opponents, 69.5-68.2. | Falcon Statistics

THE FALCONS LAST TIME OUT:   River Falls Falcons  played host to the No. 18 UW- Stevens Point Pointers Jan. 17 and fell 58-51 in a game where there was six lead changes between the two teams and countless momentum swings. The final score did not resemble the game as a whole. Neither team was able to pull away until the Pointers forced a turnover which lead to an easy dunk to extend the their lead to 54-47 with just under two minutes in the game. | Story and Box Score

LAST YEAR WHEN STOUT AND RIVER FALLS MET:   The teams split last season, with the Falcons winning 70-64, Dec. 11, 2013, in River Falls. Stout took the game at Johnson Fieldhouse, 67-48, Jan. 29, 2014. | Game One | Game Two


CLIMBING THE LADDER: Jarvis Ragland has been climbing the UW-Stout career scoring list througout the season. He currently has 786 career points, good for 46th on the all-time list, passing Jeremy Preston (1997-99, 767 pts),  Brian Howard (1955-59, 737 pts) and Terry Farmer (2003-06, 726 pts). Ragland needs only three points to pass Doug Eha (1970-73, 788 pts), the 1973 WSUC player of the year.  Eha  is currently 45th on the list.

AWARDS AND HONORS: Brett Ahsenmacher was selected as the UW-Stout Northwestern Mutual athlete of the week, Jan. 5, after his performance at the St. Norbert Tournament...Brett Ahsenmacher was selected to the all-tournament team at the Nicolet National Bank Holiday Tournament hosted by St. Norbert College, Dec. 29-30...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 (186-191 at Stout, 436-380 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. UW-River Falls: Jeff Berkoff (101-123) is in his ninth year as the Falcons head coach. UW-Platteville: Jeff Gard (81-54) is in his sixth year as the head coach of the Pioneers.

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 be at UW-Eau Claire, Wednesday, Jan. 28 at 7 p.m., then will be at UW-Oshkosh, Saturday, Jan. 31 at 3 p.m.


UW-Stout 2014-15 Individual Season Highs (Updated January 22, 2015)

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, (8x) Jalen Patterson vs. St. Scholastica, Dec. 30, 2014; John Lahti vs. John Carroll, Dec. 29, 2014; John Keefe vs. UW-Stevens Point, Dec. 10, 2014; Hank Kujak vs. UW-La Crosse, Dec. 6, 2014; 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 January 22, 2015)

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: 46 vs. John Carroll University, Dec. 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 January 22, 2015)

Jarvis Ragland - #3
Points: 26 vs. Northwestern, Dec. 20, 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: 6 vs. John Carroll University, Dec. 29, 2014
Assists: 5 vs. St. Scholastica, Dec. 30, 2014

Mac Oreskovic - #5
Points: 6 (2x) vs. UW-Eau Claire, Jan. 7, 2015; vs. John Carroll University, Dec. 29, 2014
Rebounds: 2 (3x) vs. UW-Platteville, Jan. 3, 2015; vs. Cardinal Stritch, Nov. 30, 2014; vs. Viterbo University, Nov. 19, 2014:
Assists: 2 vs. UW-River Falls, Jan. 21, 2015

D'Marcco Patrick - #10
Points: 15 vs. Coe College, Nov. 16, 2014
Rebounds: 4 vs. UW-Oshkosh, Jan. 14, 2015
Assists: 3 (32x) vs. UW-Superior, Jan. 17, 2015; vs. UW-Oshkosh, Jan. 14, 2015; vs. UW-Whitewater, Jan. 10, 2015

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: 10 vs. John Carroll University, Dec. 29, 2014
Rebounds: 5 (2x) vs. John Carroll University, Dec. 29, 2014; vs. Viterbo University, Nov. 19, 2014:
Assists: 6 vs. John Carroll University, Dec. 29, 2014

Brett Ahsenmacher - #13
Points: 22 vs. John Carroll University, Dec. 29, 2014
Rebounds: 5 vs. UW-Eau Claire, Jan. 7, 2015
Assists: 3 (5x) vs. UW-River Falls, Jan. 21, 2015; vs. UW-Oshkosh, Jan. 14, 2015; vs. UW-Eau Claire, Jan. 7, 2015; vs. St. Scholastica, Dec. 30, 2014; vs. Bethany Lutheran, Dec. 3, 2014

Isaac Elliott - #14
Points: 14 vs. UW-River Falls, Jan. 21, 2015
Rebounds: 3 (3x) vs. UW-Platteville, Jan. 3, 2015; vs. Northwestern, Dec. 20, 2014; vs. Wartburg College, Nov. 29, 2014
Assists: 2 vs. Northwestern, Dec. 20, 2014.

Jalen Patterson - #15
Points: 17 vs. UW-Superior, Jan. 17, 2015
Rebounds: 5 vs. UW-River Falls, Jan. 21, 2015
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:

Hank Kujak - #33
Points: 17 vs. UW-Whitewater, Jan. 10, 2015
Rebounds: 9 vs. John Carroll University, Dec. 29, 2014
Assists: 7 vs. Wartburg College, Nov. 29, 2014

Reggie Kujak - #32
Points: 11 vs. St. Scholastica, Dec. 30, 2014
Rebounds: 10 vs. John Carroll University, Dec. 29, 2014
Assists: 2 vs. UW-Stevens Point, Dec. 10, 2014

John Lahti - #42
Points: 12 vs. UW-Whitewater, Jan. 10, 2015
Rebounds: 6 vs. Cardinal Stritch, Nov. 30, 2014
Assists: 2 vs. John Carroll University, Dec. 29, 2014


The Last Time...(updated January 22, 2015)

A Stout Individual...
Scored 30+ points: 30, John Keefe vs. Bethany Lutheran, (12/3/14)
Scored 25-29 points: 26, Jarvis Ragland vs. Northwestern, (12/20/14)
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: 6, 2014-15 season
Was held to 40 or fewer points in game: 40, vs. Plattsburgh State (12/30/13)