MENOMONIE, Wis. - Marian University men's basketball (0-1, 0-0 NACC) outscored UW-Stout 45-39 in the second half but fell to the Blue Devils by an 84-77 final.

Marian cut down a 15-point deficit to open the second half to seven with an 8-0 run to open the second stanza and shortly after cut the deficit to as little as five following a three-point from freshman Will Olewinski.  The Sabres continued their second half push when sophomore Trentin Fouse was sent to the charity stripe where he cut the UW-Stout deficit down to one at 65-64 with only 6:10 left in regulation.

The Blue Devils responded, however, and the Sabres wouldn't manage to inch any closer as Stout was able to pull away in the final minutes. An 11-4 run from UW-Stout at the end of the first half proved to be a difference maker as it gave the Blue Devils a 45-32 lead heading into halftime.

Fouse led the offense with a team-high 18 points, while fellow sophomore Will Polczynski added 14 points and eight rebounds.  Freshman Taylor Rahn posted double-digits with 12 points in his Sabre debut.

The Blue Devils outscored Marian 42-30 in the paint but the Sabres did grab 17 offensive rebounds, which translated to 18 second chance points.

Marian takes on UW-Superior in the consolation game of the UW-Stout Tip Off tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 18, at 1 p.m.

--FightBlueFight--