UW-Stout 94, Edgewood College 91 |
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DEPERE (December 29, 2019) – UW-Stout held a 51-40 halftime lead, but had to hold off Edgewood College in the second half to take a 94-91 win in the opening game of the St. Norbert Nicolet National Bank Holiday Tournament Sunday.
The Eagles (2-7) pulled to within two points with four seconds remaining in the game, but Stout's
Josh Mericle made the front end of two free throws to give Stout (4-6) a three point margin and forced the long 3-point attempt at the buzzer.
Jon Ciriacks made 9 of 18 shots from the floor, including three 3-pointers and four free throws to lead the Blue Devils with 25 points.
Josh Mericle scored a career-best 19 points.
Cliff McCray hit a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Luke Geiger scored 14 points.
The Eagles had five players in double figures with Avery Lyons matching Ciriacks' 25 points and Ben Seefeld matching Mericle's 19 points.
Both teams shot 50 percent or better from the floor, with Stout hitting 37 of 74 shots (50.0 percent) and Edgewood hitting 34-63 (52.3 percent) Stout shot nine 3-pointers, while Edgewood hit six.
Stout will play host St. Norbert, a 76-46 winner over UW-Superior, in the championship game at 7 p.m. Monday. The match-up will feature Stout's Ciriacks against his older brother Joe Ciriacks of St. Norbert.
