Menomonie, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's basketball team earned a 74-60 road win at UW-Stout Wednesday night in Johnson Fieldhouse. The Eagles, ranked 17th on D3hoops.com, improve to 14-2 overall and 4-2 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) while the Blue Devils drop to 5-12 overall and 1-5 in the conference. 

UWL started the scoring on a Zac Haese three-pointer and took a 5-0 lead on a pair of Luke Norcia free throws.  The game was tied 5-5 after UW-Stout's Jon Ciriacks hit a three-point field goal with 18:11 remaining. The Blue Devils took their only lead of the game at 10-8 on another Ciriacks' three-pointer with 16:44 left in the first half. Wyatt Cook's layup off a Terek Nesheim assist tied the game at 10-10 for the Eagles. Nesheim's three-pointer after a UW-Stout turnover gave UWL a 13-10 lead and the Eagles would never trail the rest of the game. 

UWL later led, 21-18, with 8:52 remaining in the half when it used a 10-2 run to take a 31-20 advantage after Ethan Anderson's three-point field goal. The Eagles led by as many as 13 points at 37-24 with 1:54 left on an Anderson dunk. UWL led, 37-28, at halftime. 

Eight different players scored for the Eagles in the first half, including nine points from Anderson and six each from Cook and Nesheim. UWL shot 45.2% (14-of-31) from the field in the first 20 minutes, including 33.3% (five-of-15) from three-point range..

UW-Stout cut the lead to 43-38 with 16:42 left on a Cliff McCray layup, but UWL scored the next six points to take a 49-38 advantage with 13:03 remaining. Luke Geiger's layup for the Blue Devils cut the deficit to 59-51 with 6:52 left before the Eagles used an 8-1 run to lead 67-52 with 4:48 remaining. 

UWL shot 46.6% from the field, including 27.3% (six-of-22) from three-point range, and 51.9% (14-of-27) at the line. Cook led the Eagles with 17 points and seven rebounds. Nesheim finished the night with 13 points, seven rebounds and game-high four assists while Anderson finished with 16 points. Luke Norcia added 12 points and three rebounds. 

UW-Stout shot 38.5% from the field, including 21.7% (five-of-23) from three-point range, and 62.5% (15-of-24) at the line. Geiger led the Blue Devils with 20 points and eight rebounds. Ciriacks finished with 12 points. 

UWL returns to action Saturday, January 25 at UW-Eau Claire at 5 p.m.