The Eagles played like they had to win, and they had to win in order to have a chance to get into the WIAC playoffs next week. La Crosse's Joe Werner proved to be the deciding factor as the sophomore scored 21 points., connecting on 10-of-14 field goals, and had 13 rebounds.
Most of the first half was tight, with the score knotting up eight times. But the Eagles (7-17, 4-11) went on a 7-2 run to close the half and take a 37-31 halftime lead. Stout (13-9, 8-7) missed their first 11 shot attempts to start off the second half and La Crosse took advantage with a 12-4 run. Stout cut the lead to 49-41, but La Crosse took off another run, this one a 7-1 run and the Blue Devils could not get back.
Terry Farmer was Stout's lone player to score in double figures with 10 points. Ryan Stangl was held to eight points and Adam Chandler was shut out for only the second time this year. Stout shot only 7-of-30 from the floor in the second half and finished the game hitting 22-of-62 field goals attempts (35 percent). The Eagles shot 27-of-57 from the floor (47 percent).
Besides Werner's 21 points, Chris Fehrenbach tossed in 15 points and Marcus Conigliaro added 10 points for the Eagles.
The Blue Devils missed out on a key opportunity to move closer to securing a home playoff berth when UW-Whitewater lost to UW-Platteville. The Blue Devils are still a half game ahead of Whitewater, which wrapped up their regular season. Stout will host Platteville, Saturday, Feb. 19 at 3:30 p.m. Platteville is a game behind Stevens Point and is within striking range of the conference title.