WIAC roundup (2/24): UW-Stout men's basketball bests Warhawks in OT

The Leader-Telegram, Eau Claire, Wis.
·3 min read

Feb. 25—UW-Stout men's basketball got a pair of clutch 3-pointers, first from Jon Ciriacks to tie the game and another from Armani Tinsley to go ahead, to help secure a 93-90 overtime victory against UW-Whitewater on Wednesday in Whitewater.

The Blue Devils survived a last-second 3-point attempt from the Warhawks to earn their second win of the season.

The team was down 82-78 with 45 seconds remaining in regulation when Ciriacks, playing in his first game since the season opener, hit from deep to cut the deficit to one. After UW-Whitewater hit a free throw on the other end, Tinsley forced the extra frame with a layup with three seconds on the clock.

UW-Stout went ahead early in overtime, but the Warhawks built an 88-85 advantage before Ciriacks tied it. UW-Whitewater got within one after Ciriacks and Tinsley's 3's, but another layup from Ciriacks helped seal the deal.

Tinsley finished with 25 points, while Luke Geiger had 20. Ciriacks and Lovell Williams notched 15. UW-Whitewater was led by 19 points from Gage Malensek.

These teams will play again on Friday in Menomonie at 7 p.m.

Women's basketball

UW-Oshkosh 63, UW-Eau Claire 56: UW-Eau Claire women's basketball was held in check offensively for the first time this season, and with the struggles came the team's first loss, too.

The Blugolds shot 35% from the field, a 10% dip from the team's season average entering the contest, and scored a season low for points in a 63-56 road loss to UW-Oshkosh on Wednesday. The contest was a rematch of last year's WIAC Tournament championship game and pitted the top seeds from the WIAC's newly formed divisions against each other.

UW-Eau Claire led by as much as five in the closing seconds of the third quarter after mounting an impressive 20-6 run in the period. But the Titans swung back, outscoring the visitors 23-11 in the fourth.

Jessie Ruden led the Blugolds with 16 points. Ellie Clayton added 13 and Katie Essen had 12 to round out the team's double-digit scorers.

Karsyn Rueth and Nikki Arneson each scored 13 for the Titans, while Leah Porath was close behind with 12.

The meeting was a first game in a crossover series between the schools, pitting UW-Eau Claire from the WIAC's West Division against the Titans of the East. Thankfully for the Blugolds, the WIAC is only taking divisional games into consideration when it comes to seeding for next week's WIAC Tournament. UW-EC is locked into the No. 1 seed, so the only way this series has an impact on the team's road to a WIAC title is if both these teams make it to the championship bout.

In that case, the first tiebreaker is head-to-head competition. The Blugolds can force the league to go further down the tiebreaker protocols by evening the series Friday at the McPhee Center.

UW-Whitewater 76, UW-Stout 51: The Blue Devils were down from the jump, managing only two points in the first quarter in the team's fifth consecutive loss. UW-Stout looked to get its footing in the second by outscoring the Warhawks 19-12, but UW-Whitewater pulled away for good with a 31-13 third quarter. UW-Stout's only lead was at 2-0.

UW-Whitewater dominated the boards, grabbing 50 rebounds, while holding the Blue Devils to 31% shooting. The Warhawks led by as much as 30 points in the fourth.

Liz Oswald scored 14 points to lead the Blue Devils. Aleah Grundahl had 19 for the Warhawks.

These teams will play twice more, first on Friday at 7 p.m. in the regular season finale and again on Monday in the first round of the WIAC Tournament.