MENOMONIE, Wis. (November 26, 2011) - UW-Stout closed the first half on a big run and opened the second half strong, running away with a 79-53 win over Northland, Saturday night in their first contest of the Quality Inn & Suites Turkey Shootout being hosted at Johnson Fieldhouse.

Erik Olson (Jr, Buffalo, Minn.) filled up the stat sheet for the Blue Devils (3-1), scoring eight points along with seven rebounds and a game-high 11 assists.  Olson also recorded a game-high six steals. 

Stout jumped out to an early 12-2 lead in the first five minutes, but Northland (0-3) stormed back, tying the game at 14 five minutes later, then taking their first and only lead of the game when Sean Augustyn threw down the game's only dunk.  Minutes later, Stout recaptured their lead, and led the rest of the way.

The Blue Devils finished the first half on a 9-2 run in the last three minutes, then came out of the locker rooms to reel off a 12-4 run to take a 16-point advantage just minutes into the second half.  The closest the Lumberjacks came after that was 11 points, and Stout's greatest lead was the 26-point lead they finished the game with.

Steve Pax (So, Elmwood) led Stout with 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting.  Three other Blue Devils scored in double digits.  Aaron Jenny (So, New London, Minn.) and Tim Butina (So, Woodbury, Minn.) each chalked up 10 points while Carter Ciolkosz (Fr, Maplewood, Minn.) scored 11.  Ciolkosz and Jenny both grabbed six boards, while Butina matched Olson with seven.  Josh Kosloske (So, Oakfield) led the field with eight rebounds.

Stout will face Robert Morris University out of Chicago tomorrow in the tournament's championship game.  Robert Morris defeated Wartburg College earlier in the day, 80-57, to advance to the championship.  The game is scheduled to start at 5 p.m.