Two offensive fouls by UW-Stout did not turn the tide. That ship had already sailed.

But Stout held off a second half UW-Eau Claire charge that saw the Blugolds get as close as three points late in the game and the Blue Devils went on to a 54-46 win at Johnson Fieldhouse Thursday.

Stout (11-2, 4-1 WIAC) saw a 30-15 halftime lead sail away as the Blugolds (6-8, 0-5 WIAC) chipped away at the lead, getting with easy striking range after Stout's Aaron Jenny (Jr, Spicer, Minn) and #Jarvis Raglandv (Jr, Milwaukee) were called for offensive fouls on back-to-back possessions.

Dustin Kalien cut the lead to 40-35 with a 3-pointer at 7:53 and Andy Kleist made it a three point game, 40-37, with a bucket at 6:20.

The Blue Devils answered back. Chris Hortman (Sr, Milwaukee), who finished the night with a game-high 18 points, drained a 3-pointer at 5:12 to give Stout a six point, 43-37, lead. The Blugolds would not go away. Kleist put Eau Claire to within four points, the closest they would get for the rest of the night.

A free throw by Ragland, followed by a bucket by Hortman and layup by Ragland pushed Stout's lead to nine points, 48-39, with 2:21 remaining. Eau Claire got as close as six points a couple of times, but Hortman made four free throws in the final 40 seconds to give Stout some breathing room.

Defensively, Stout proved a force in the first half, holding Eau Claire to 15 percent shooting from the floor (5-32), while the Blue Devils made half their shots (12-24) to double the score at halftime.

Eau Claire picked up their pace in the second half, making 38 percent (11-29) of their shots from the floor, while Stout made 44 percent (7-16). Stout finished the night shooting 47.5 percent from the floor (19-40) and made 6-of-13 3-point shots. Eau Claire finished at 26.2 percent from the floor (16-61) and made 8-of-35 3-point attempts.

In addition to his 18 points - 15 points in the second half - Hortman finished with a game-high nine rebounds. Ragland tossed in 13 points. Stout held a 37-30 advantage in rebounds. This was the eighth straight game Stout has outrebounded Eau Claire.

Eau Claire was led by Dustin Kalien with 11 points and Kleist finished with 10 points.

This Stout fifth consecutive win over Eau Claire at Johnson Fieldhouse and their ninth of 10 games.

Stout will be at UW-Stevens Point, Wednesday, Jan. 9, then will be at UW-Oshkosh, Saturday, Jan. 12.