MENOMONIE (December 12, 2012) - UW-Stout had an off-night in the rebounding category, but used an efficient offense and solid defense to survive River Falls, Wednesday night, earning a 62-52 victory at Johnson Fieldhouse.

Entering the game with a league-best +10 rebounding differential, the Blue Devils allowed 15 offensive boards to River Falls, and were out-rebounded, 41-30 overall. But a balanced scoring attack led by a very efficient Erik Olson (Sr, Buffalo, Minn.) gave UW-Stout the edge they needed to prevent the upset.

Five players of Stout's nine-man lineup scored at least eight points with Jarvis Ragland (Jr, Milwaukee) leading the way with 14. Ragland was 6-of-10 from the field, including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc. Olson distributed the ball well, as he dished out nine assists compared to zero turnovers, and came away with two steals.

The back-and-forth first half featured four ties and four lead changes. River Falls twice led by six points, and Stout twice led by seven, but it all culminated with a 36-34, Stout lead at halftime. Olson had seven of his nine assists in the half. The Falcons scored 11 second chance points, but the Blue Devils scored 11 off turnovers, resulting in the tight halftime score.

At the 16-minute mark, Stout started an 8-0 run to give them a 49-40 lead midway through the second half. The stretch featured four points from Aaron Jenny (Jr, Spicer, Minn.) and one of Ragland's slam dunks we are getting accustomed to seeing, his second of the night.

River Falls cut the lead to seven, but that is the closest they could get, as Ragland hit a three to put it back to 10, then Alex Oman (Jr, Lake Elmo, Minn.) found Josh Kosloske (Jr, Oakfield) under the basket for an easy layup to give them a 58-46, insurmountable lead.

Stout shot 40 percent compared to River Falls' 35 percent, and won the turnover battle, 15-5, to offset their rebounding margin of -11.

On the day of 12's (December 12, 2012), Chris Hortman (Sr, Milwaukee) added 12 points on 12 shot attempts. Oman also attempted 12 shots on the night, and Stout made exactly 12 free throws.

Stout returns to action after Christmas, when they head to Wisconsin Dells for their winter break trip. They will face Loras College, Saturday, Dec. 29, and Concordia-Wis., Sunday, Dec. 30.