ST. PAUL – The University of Northwestern men's basketball team came up short in a highly-contested game with the University of Wisconson-Stout Blue Devils (5-2) Wednesday night, as the visitors snuck away with a 66-64 win inside the Ericksen Center. With the loss, the Eagles even their season record at 3-3 and snap a three-game winning streak.
In a contest that was highlighted by runs, Northwestern quickly built a double-digit lead, starting the game on a 25-9 run in the game's first seven and half minutes before distancing the margin to 16 again with 6:37 to play in the first half. Stout then answered with a late surge of its own to narrow the gap to 34-30 heading into the locker room.
The Blue Devils came out of the locker room on fire, taking a 13-point lead after putting together a 21-4 run to open the second frame. The Eagles then clawed their way back into the game, cutting the deficit to four (64-60) with 5:36 to play thanks to a
Porter Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Home School) 3-pointer and layup. UNW then got as close as two and had a chance to tie or win it on its final possession but were unable to convert, dropping the non-conference game 66-64.
Porter Morrell (Elk River, Minn./Home School) drilled five 3-pointers en route to finishing with a game-high 25 points, while
Will Gisler (Stewartville, Minn./Stewartville) also reached double figures, pouring in 12 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Gisler is just six points away from 1,000 in his career.
Anderson Bazile Jr. (Houston, Tex./San Antonio Reagan) contributed nine points, while
Peter Maring (Harris, Minn./Cambridge Christian) and
Cody Sprenger (Grey Eagle, Minn./Long Prairie-Grey Eagle) added six each.
Both teams shot nearly identical from the floor and 3-point range, as UNW finished shooting 45.5 percent from the field and 29.2 percent from downtown, while UW-Stout ended the night hitting 45.3 percent from the floor and 28.6 percent from 3-point land.
The Eagles will resume Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) play Saturday when they travel to North Central. Tip-off in Minneapolis is set for 5 p.m.
