The University of Wisconsin - Superior men’s basketball team fails to take the third place spot in the WIAC away from UW-Stout, losing 85-77 in a tough game at Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium.

The ‘Jackets got out to a fast start, making their first seven field goals and taking a 21-11 lead with 11:00 to go in the first half.  Stout would grind back and close the gap in the remainder of the half, and UWS would go into the locker room with a mere 36-33 lead.  

Both teams came out of the locker room strong, with the game being close the entire second half.  The Blue Devils would take over the lead halfway through the period, and wouldn’t lose it.  They extended their lead with hot shooting by Eric Hostetter, who scored 21 of his 23 points in the second half.  UWS would fight back to keep the game relatively close, but with 1:13 left and a manageable 74-69 deficit, a tough call by the referees gave Stout two points on a player control foul, which made the deficit seven points.  UWS ran out of time with their comeback, and were downed 85-77.

Despite the loss, the ‘Jackets had four players in double figures.  Junior Dan Culy had a team high 23 points, which gives him 966 for his career.  He needs just 34 more points in the last three games (not including playoffs), to reach 1,000 points, which would make him the third player to reach that milestone this year (Jr. Jake Smith, Sr. Dwight Hill).  Junior Marcus Helland would add a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while sophomore Ben Aalfs added 16 points off the bench in just 23 minutes.  Junior Jake Smith would end up with 15 points after a slow first half, and senior Dwight Hill would add 7 points and 7 assists in his last regular season home game as a Yellowjacket.

Last night’s game also marked senior night for UWS, with Dwight Hill and Lucas Tellijohn being honored before the game.  Both players played for four years at UWS, and were an integral part in building the program to where it is now.  Hill will leave as the all-time assists leader at UWS, with 365 after last night, and is currently 7th on the all-time scoring list with 1,274.

This game brings the ‘Jacket’s record to 13-9 overall and 6-7 in the WIAC.  This brings them into a tie for 5th place in the conference with UW-Eau Claire, who they play next week.  First, they head to UW-Oshkosh on Saturday to take on the Titans, and help seal their birth to the conference tournament and hopefully gain a high seed to host a first round playoff game, which has never been done.