Stout makes run at Falcons, but can't catch them

UW-River Falls 71, UW-Stout 69

RIVER FALLS (January 16, 2019) - Trailing 31-10, UW-Stout went on a 17-3 run to close out the final six minutes of the first half to pull to within seven points, 34-27, at halftime, but UW-River Falls would just barely hold off the Blue Devils and defeated Stout, 71-69, Wednesday.
 
Stout kept up the offensive in the second half, getting as close a one point, 66-65, with 2:22 left in the game, but could not get over the hump.

Trailing by five at 2:33, Luke Geiger pulled Stout to within 66-61. D'Marcco Patrick stole the ball and went the distance to lay the ball in, then connected on both free throws following a River Falls technical foul and Stout trailed 66-65. 

The Falcons extended the lead to three points on a pair of free throws by Julian Jackson, but Patrick brought Stout back to within one point, 68-57, making two charity shots. A 3-pointer by the Falcons' Jack Stensgard was answered by a layup by Zach Dahl. The Falcons missed three consecutive shots in the final 40 seconds of the game and a potential game winning 3-pointer by Geiger missed the mark.

Geiger would lead all scorers with 20 points, one point short of a career-best. Patrick finished with 10 points. The Blue Devils handcuffed themselves in the first half, hitting 24.1 percent (7-20) of their shots from the floor. They turned the game around by hitting 45.5 percent (15-33) of their second half shots to finish the game shooting 35.5 percent (22-62).

The Falcons had four scorers in double figures, led by Stensgard's 13 points. Jalen Greenlee, Austin Heidecker and Julian Jackson each scored 12 points. Heidecker, the league's leading rebounder, collected a double-double by pulling down 12 boards. The Falcons shot 42.9 percent (24-56) from the floor.

Stout will be at UW-Eau Claire, Saturday, Jan. 19 with a 7 p.m. scheduled start as the second half of a doubleheader with the womens programs.