UW-La Crosse 66, UW-Stout 54
MENOMONIE (February 16, 2019) - After five minutes, the score was 3-2 in UW-Stout's favor, but UW-La Crosse warmed up to take a 27-16 halftime lead and went on to a 66-54 win over the Blue Devils Saturday on Dewey Mintz Court in Johnson Fieldhouse.
Neither team shot particularly well in the first half, Stout shooting 21.2 percent (7-33) from the floor and La Crosse 40.0 percent (10-25). Both teams improved in the second half as Stout shot 48.3 percent (14-29) and La Crosse 52.4 percent (11-21). La Crosse finished the afternoon shooting 45.7 percent (21-46) and Stout 33.9 percent (21.62).
Stout (6-19, 0-14 WIAC) pulled to as close as three points 29-26 four minutes into the second half as the Blue Devils opened up the half on a 10-3 run. But the Eagles (17-8, 10-4 WIAC) answered back with a 7-3 run to push the lead to 10 points and Stout would not get any closer than seven points the rest of the afternoon.
La Crosse had four players in double figures, led by Ethan Anderson's 15 points. Brendon Manning added 14 points, Taulvish McCray 11 and Jack Kortes 10.
Luke Geiger led Stout again, matching Anderson's 15 points.
Zach Dahl tossed in 11 points in the senior's final game.
The free throw line was not friendly to the Blue Devils this afternoon, hitting only 6 of 13. The Eagles were 21 of 27 from the line and held a 34-32 advantage in rebounds.
John Keefe made his first appearance in the Blue Devil line-up since Jan. 9, but Keefe did not score. Keefe took three shots, all 3-point attempts. Keefe finished the season averaging 19.8 points per game, playing 14 games. Keefe finished his career with 1150 points, tied for 12th on Stout's all-time scoring list. Keefe made 172 3-pointers over his career, fifth on the all-time list.
It was Senior Day for the Blue Devils and Keefe, Dahl,
Tanner Schmitt and
Braden Walbeck all played their final collegiate game, all four starting the game. It was Walbeck's first start of the year and the 10th of his career. It was Schmitt's first career start. Dahl finished with 422 career points, putting him in the top 100 all-time.
The Eagles earned the No. 2 spot in the WIAC Championship tournament.
