Tinsley scores 24 as Blue Devils take down No. 7 Eagles, 76-66

UW-Stout 76, UW-La Crosse 66

LA CROSSE (February 16, 2022) – UW-Stout's Armani Tinsley scored 24 points as UW-Stout defeated seventh-ranked UW-La Crosse at Mitchell Hall Wednesday.
 
Stout (16-8, 7-6 WIAC) led 34-33 at halftime as the teams battled tooth-and-nail, with seven lead changes throughout the first half.  Stout outscored the Eagles, 42-33, in the second half with Tinsley scoring 14 of his points after the break.

The teams traded leads six times over the first six minutes of the second half, with neither team holding more than a three point lead. La Crosse (19-5, 9-5 WIAC) led 42-41 at 15:34 when Stout went on a 10-0 run and the Blue Devils held a nine-point, 51-42 lead at the 11:36 mark. 

La Crosse tied the score at 59 apiece with 4:49 lead and took the lead a minte later, 63-61. A bucket by Lovell Williams tied the score at 63-63 and Tinsley gave Stout the lead for good at 2:17. La Crosse pulled to within one point, but Stout would make 9 of 10 free throws down the final 1:46 and Luke Geiger hit his 1000th career point with the last basket of the game. Geiger now has 1001 career points. 
 
Tinsley was 9 of 14 from from the field, including 2 of 5 from 3-point range and made all four free throw attempts.

Jon Ciriacks scored 16 points for Stout and completed a double-double with a career-high 14 rebounds, as Stout won the rebound battle, pulling down 49 boards to La Crosse's 32 rebounds.
 
The Eagles had four players in double figures, with Austin Westra and Torin Hannah both coming off the bench to score 12 points. Hannah also had 11 rebounds.

Stout shot 28 of 57 from the floor for the game (49.1 percent), 7 of 23 from 3-point range (30.4 percent) and 13 of 20 from the line (65.0 percent). Stout shot 53.8 percent (14-26) in the second half.

The Eagles shot 25 of 66 from the floor (37.9 percent), 7 of 22 from 3-point land (31.8 percent) and 8 of 18 from the line (50.0 percent). 

The Stout win snapped a 10-game losing streak with La Crosse and was also Stout's first win in Mitchell Hall since Feb. 18, 2006. 

Next up is the WIAC Men's Basketball Tournament (presented by Culver's). Seedings for the WIAC Tournament, which begins Friday, Feb. 18, are expected to be released late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.