MENOMONIE, Wis. (February 11, 2012) - UW-Stout came up with all the big plays they needed, Saturday evening, defeating rival UW-Eau Claire, 67-66, in an overtime thriller at Johnson Fieldhouse.

The Blue Devils (7-16, 2-12 WIAC) got clutch shots from multiple players, and denied two Blugold (14-9, 6-8 WIAC) game-winning attempts, after hanging tight with the opposition the entire game.

Carter Ciolkosz (Fr, Maplewood, Minn.) hit the three that sent the game into overtime.  Then in overtime, he hit a three to tie the game at 64, and hit a driving layup to knot the score at 66.  Alex Oman (So, Lake Elmo, Minn.) gave the Blue Devils the last point they needed when he hit a free throw with 13 seconds to play.

Jarvis Ragland (So, Milwaukee) and Oman got the scoring going early for Stout, combining for 10 of the team's first 12 points.  Eau Claire's Dustin Kalien helped get his team back in the game by hitting four consecutive three pointers over a six minute stretch, with the last one giving the Blugolds a five-point lead, their largest of the entire game.

The Blue Devils kept within striking distance for the rest of the half, and a Ciolkosz three-ball knotted the game at the halftime score of 31-31.

Thomas Scholle-Malone (Jr, Milwaukee) gave Stout their first lead of the second half, and Aaron Jenny (So, New London, Minn.) extended the lead to four when he hit his first of three huge second-half three pointers.

Midway through the period, Oman and Erik Olson (Jr, Buffalo, Minn.) stole the show for a few minutes.  Oman scored nine points in a row for Stout, and scored 11 of the team's 13 over a four minute stretch.  During that run, which resulted in a game-high nine point Blue Devil lead, Olson dished out three assists and collected one rebound.

The Blugolds chipped away at the lead, cutting it to just four.  Jenny, however, hit another three to stop the bleeding, but was answered right away by Kalien's sixth three of the night.  Eau Claire's Nick Kraggs hit from downtown on their next possession to cut the lead to one point with under four minutes to play.

Eau Claire took advantage of their early double bonus and hit five unanswered free throws to complete an 11-0 run that gave them a four point advantage, now with two and a half minutes to play. 

A minute later, Ragland hit one of two free throws after being fouled, to make it a one-possession game.  After Jordan Petersen missed a pair of huge free throws, Stout got the ball back with a minute to play.  Oman missed the jumper that would pull his team within one, but quickly redeemed himself by recording his fifth steal of the game, setting up another game-tying attempt.  This time, Ciolkosz took the pass from Olson and buried it from three to put the season-high attendance on their feet.

In what turned out to be their first game-winning attempt, Eau Claire got the ball in the paint, but failed to put it in the basket, and the game went to extra minutes.

Down by two in overtime, Oman hit a jumper to tie the game at 61.  Minutes later, Ciolkosz hit his third three of the game, marking the ninth tie of the ballgame.  Oman hit the late free throw, setting up a win or lose situation for the Blugolds.

Their first shot attempt of the possession came with four seconds on the clock, but was emphatically rejected into about the fifth row of the stands by Scholle-Malone.  Following a timeout, Kalien got a wide open look from three, but delivered a rare miss as time expired.

Oman led all scorers with 24 points, and also collected seven rebounds.  Ciolkosz added 15 points and three assists, while Jenny shot 4-of-5 overall, 3-of-3 from beyond the arc to finish with 11 points.

Big men Josh Kosloske (So, Oakfield) and Tim Butina (So, Woodbury, Minn.) dominated the boards, grabbing nine and eight rebounds, respectively.  Stout out-rebounded the Blugolds, 42-33, on the night.

The Blue Devils will close out their season with two road games.  First, they will be in Stevens Point this Wednesday, Feb. 15, and will end their season at UW-Oshkosh the following Saturday.