Nelson's Late Basket Lifts Blue Devils Over Warhawks

The Basics

Score: UW-Stout 62, UW-Whitewater 61
Record: Blue Devils (7-7, 3-0), Warhawks (7-7, 1-2)
Location: Johnson Fieldhouse– Menomonie, Wis.


A clutch basket from Justin Nelson with eight seconds left sealed the Blue Devils third straight WIAC win to open conference play. The last time UW-Stout won their first three conference games was in the 2005-2006 season, starting off 4-0 in WIAC play.
 
The Blue Devils were able to wrestle away a gritty, defensive, game away from the Warhawks in the final seconds of hotly contested affair. Usually basketball is described as a "game of runs", but that was not the case this afternoon, as neither team scored more than six points in a row, and neither team held a lead bigger than seven points. After a first half featuring a lot of turnovers and inefficient shooting, the Blue Devils were able to take a two-point lead into the half as Justin Nelson drew a foul with .2 seconds remaining. Nelson made both free throws to break the 29-29 tie and give the Blue Devils a 31-29 lead at the half.
 
The second half featured more of the same—inefficient offense, opportunistic defense, and a very tight basketball game. Both teams traded baskets until the Blue Devils found themselves down 61-60 with 19 seconds left and the Warhawks inbounding the ball. The Blue Devils forced a bad pass on the inbound, giving Stout possession with 18 seconds to go in the game. Justin Nelson got to the low post, put up a shot off of the glass and in to give the Blue Devils a 62-61 lead with eight seconds remaining. Whitewater put up a three-point shot as time expired that was no good, resulting in a one-point victory for UW-Stout.
 
Top Performers

• Justin Nelson led the Blue Devils in scoring with 14 and was a major presence defensively recording 5 blocks.
• AJ Uttech nearly recorded a double-double, scoring 10 points and recording 9 rebounds.
• Collin Vick scored eight points, brought down 8 boards, and had two steals.

Inside the Box Score  

• The Blue Devils won despite turning the ball over 20 times.
• The Warhawks shot much better than Stout from the free throw line, shooting 78% compared to just 45% for the Blue Devils.
• Stout dominated the glass, securing 43 rebounds, compared to just 28 for Whitewater.

UP NEXT 
The Blue Devils will be back in action Wednesday, January 15th, hosting UW-Lacrosse. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Johnson Fieldhouse.