Blue Devils come back from 12-point deficit, but fall by three

University of Northwestern 66, UW-Stout 63 (Box Score) | Photo Gallery | Archived Video

MENOMONIE (December 15, 2015) - UW-Stout came back from a 12-point second half deficit, but came up just short, seeing a potential game tying 3-pointer fall off the rim at the final buzzer and the University of Northwestern carried a 66-63 win out of Johnson Fieldhouse Tuesday.

After trailing 57-45 with eight minutes left in the contest, Stout cut the lead and got to three points, 66-63, on Justin Thomas' layup with less than seconds remaining. John Keefe stole the inbound pass, but could not get the layup to fall. Stout did get the rebound and, following a timeout, worked the ball around to Isaac Elliott who took the 3-point shot, only to see the ball rim out.

The teams traded leads in the first half, but Stout (3-5) built a six point, 29-23, lead late in the first half. The Eagles got a 3-pointer just before the buzzer to pull to with three, 29-26, going into the locker room.

The Eagles (10-1) tied the score, then captured the lead on a 3-pointer by Porter Morrell, but Stout's Justin Thomas hit a 3-pointer of his own to give Stout the lead and John Lahti dropped in a layup and Stout led 34-29. Morrell and Thomas traded 3-pointers, and Stout held a 37-32 lead.

Northwestern erased Stout's lead, then went on a 20-8 run to take the 12 point, 57-45 lead. Stout cut the lead to as little as two points, but could get no closer.

The Eagles improved their shooting mark after the break. Northwestern shot 32.1 percent (9-28) in the first half, but improved to 56.0 percent (14-25) in the second half to finish at 43.4 percent (23-53). The Eagles connected on 13-of-28 3-pointers.

Stout cooled off slightly after halftime, starting off at 43.3 percent (13-30) in the beginning, the dipped to 38.2 percent (13-34) in the second half and finished at 40.6 percent (26-64).

Stout's Keefe led all scorers with 17 points. Thomas' three 3-pointers pushed him to 13 oints and Jalen Patterson added 10 points. Lahti pulled down 11 rebounds.

Morrell, Youngberg, who was 4-of-4 from 3-point range, and Elrod each finished with 12 points. Cody Sprenger had 10 points.

Stout will be off until after Christmas when they travel to Las Vegas to participate in the D3hoops.com Classic. Stout will meet Pacific Lutheran, Tuesday, Dec. 29, and Skidmore College, Wednesday, Dec. 30.