UW-La Crosse 74, UW-Stout 67 (Box Score)LA CROSSE (February 3, 2016) - UW-Stout led by as many as eight points in the first half, but UW-La Crosse came out firing to open the second half and went on to defeat the Blue Devils, 74-67, Wednesday in Mitchell Hall.
Stout (4-15, 0-9 WIAC) led 28-22 at halftime after trailing early in the game.
Isaac Elliott (So, Stevens Point) hit a 3-pointer and
Jalen Patterson (So, Lauderdale, Minn) hit back-to-back buckets to give Stout a 19-13 lead with about five mintues left before the break. The Eagles (13-7, 7-2 WIAC) cut the lead to 19-16 on a three point play by Jared Staege.
The Blue Devils slowly built up the lead and went up by 28-20 on the 3-pointer by
John Keefe (So, Medford) with 13 seconds left. The Eagles Kenny Finco cut it to 28-22 just before the buzzer to give La Crosse a little momentum heading into the locker room.
The Eagles came out soaring to start the second half, hitting 8-of-9 shots from the floor, going on a 17-1 run over the opening four-plus minutes and led 39-29 at the 15:45 mark, and built up as much as a 15 point lead several times.
Stout did cut the lead to nine points when Patterson and Keefe each hit a pair of free throws and
Brett Ahsenmacher (Jr, Annandale, Minn) hit a 3-pointer to pull the score to within 71-62 with just over a minute left.
Brandyn Christman (Fr, Rice Lake) scored five points in the last 30 seconds of the game, hitting two buckets and a free throw.
The Eagles, who moved into sole possession of first place in the WIAC with the win, had four players in double figures, led by Devin Yurk's 20 points. Staege finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds, 12 offensive boards. Ben Meinholz had 12 points and Sean Wheeler came off the bench to toss in 10 points. After shooting 25.8 percent from the floor in the first half, La Crosse shot 68 percent in the second half.
Keefe led Stout with 16 points. Elliott pumped in 13 points and Patterson finished with 10.
The Blue Devils will host UW-Oshkosh Saturday, Feb. 6 at 3 p.m.
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