Blue Devils turn around to get 66-64 win over Northwestern

UW-Stout 66, University of Northwestern 64

ST. PAUL, Minn (December 7, 2016) - Eight points by Braden Walbeck (So, Fall Creek) and two 3-pointers by Sam Ortmann (Jr, Buffalo, Minn) in the first five minutes of the second half turned a four point halftime UW-Stout deficit into a lead and the Blue Devils went on to a 66-64 win over the University of Northwestern in Erichsen Center Wednesday.

Northwestern (3-3) held a 34-30 halftime lead when Walbeck, who was making his first UW-Stout start, made the first three shots he attempted in the second half to tie the game at 36-36. Ortmann gunned down a 3-pointer to give Stout (5-2) a 39-36 lead, a lead they would not give up the rest of the night.

The Eagles pulled to within one point on a bucket by Porter  Morrell, but Walbeck stretched the lead back to three and Ortmann hit his second shot from beyond the arc in the second half to make it a six point Stout lead.

Baskets by Cory Speer (Sr, Elgin, Minn), Jacob Nordstrom (Sr, Melrose) and John Keefe (Jr, Medford) would stretch the lead to 12 points. The Eagles would make a late run at the Blue Devils, getting as close to two points late. Walbeck gave the Blue Devils some breathing room with a basket to make it 66-62 with 3:08 remaining and both defenses became extremely stingy.

Anderson Bazile pulled Northwestern back to within two points with 49 seconds left. Both teams missed a shot in the final stretch, with the Eagles' Porter coming short on a 3-pointer with four seconds left and Keefe preserved the win with a rebounds. 

The Eagles got off to a good start, building up a 16 point lead over the first 15 minutes of the game. The Blue Devils shaved the lead to four points by intermission, going on a 14-2 run to finish out the half. Nordstrom and Speer each scored four points in the run and the Blue Devils got baskets by Brett Ahsenmacher (Sr, Annandale, Minn), Ortmann, and Walbeck.

Walbeck led Stout with a career-best 16 points. Ortmann pitched in 14 points and Nordstrom matched a career-best with 10 points. Ahsenmacher led Stout off the boards with eight. Stout held a 36-31 advantage in rebounds.

The Eagles' Morrell led all scorers with 25 points. Will Gisler added 12 points and had eight rebounds.

The Blue Devils return to action Saturday, Dec. 10 when they host the University of Dubuque at 4 p.m. The basketball court in Johnson Fieldhouse will officially be renamed Dewey Mintz Court to honor longtime Blue Devil coach Dwain "Dewey" Mintz.