MENOMONIE (January 16, 2013) - Chris Hortman continued his hot streak Wednesday night, recording his second double-double in three games as Stout defeated UW-La Crosse, 63-55, at Johnson Fieldhouse.

Hortman, who recorded his first double-double of the season a week ago, went off for 21 points and 13 rebounds to help Stout (13-3, 6-2 WIAC) jump ahead of UW-La Crosse (12-5, 5-3 WIAC) in the conference standings. Hortman was 7-for-15 from the field, including 5-of-8 from three.

In a game that was very physical and competitive throughout, La Crosse took the early lead. Nine points from La Crosse's Jeff Heiden helped the Eagles take an 11-4 lead, five minutes into the game. Stout battled back, however, and back-to-back buckets from Jay Higgins (Jr, Maple Grove, Minn.), who had a team-high eight first half points, gave the Blue Devils a one-point lead, their first since the early seconds of the game.

Neither team led by more than three points the rest of the half and a jumper at the buzzer by Lucas Collom, who also had eight points in the half, tied the score at 30 at the break. The first half featured five lead changes and five ties.

The early minutes of the second half remained back-and-forth, featuring two lead changes and two ties in the first five minutes. La Crosse went on the first substantial scoring run of the half, an 8-0 spurt that gave them a 44-37 lead. Stout answered right back, getting buckets from Aaron Jenny (Jr, Spicer, Minn.) and Jarvis Ragland (Jr, Milwaukee) before Hortman hit back-to-back threes to cap off a 10-0 run to grab a three-point lead with nine minutes to play.

It was with three minutes remaining when Stout went on their game-winning run. Alex Oman (Jr, Lake Elmo, Minn.) started the run with three-pointers on back-to-back possessions, and Ragland finished a three-point play seconds later to give Stout an eight-point, 61-53, lead with two minutes to play.

La Crosse cut their deficit to six, but could not get any closer as Stout milked the clock using offensive rebounds to extend their possessions. The Blue Devils collected six offensive rebounds in the final four minutes, with Hortman alone grabbing three in the final minute. His game-high 13 rebounds was the highest total of his career as a Blue Devil.

Stout shot 55 percent from the field compared to the Eagles' 42 percent clip and out-rebounded La Crosse, 37-21. La Crosse, who entered the game as one of the WIAC's most prolific three-point shooting teams, finished 6-of-21 from beyond the arc, 3-of-12 in the second half.

Oman finished with 17 points, trailing only Hortman, while Heiden led the Eagles with 14 points. Lucas Morrissey collected six rebounds for La Crosse, while no other player besides Hortman recorded more than four.