Box Score Having never previously met in men's basketball, UW-Stevens Point and Augustana had to wait a bit longer than expected to finally meet on the hardwood, but the delay was well worth it as the Pointers pulled out a gripping 71-68 victory in a showdown of top 10 ranked teams on Saturday at the Quandt Fieldhouse.

UW-Stevens Point, ranked fifth in the NCAA Division III, went on a 12-1 run midway through the second half and then blocked a three-point attempt at the buzzer to improve to 10-1 overall and post their 21st win in their last 23 games against ranked opponents. Ninth-ranked Augustana led by as many as 11 points in the first half and fell to 9-2 overall.

The teams' first meeting was delayed even longer as two fire alarms sounded during pre-game warm-ups, forcing two separate evacuations of the building and a 50-minute delay to the start of the game.

UW-Stevens Point had its most sluggish half of the season in the opening 20 minutes, shooting just 34.6 percent and committing nine turnovers against a tenacious Vikings' defense that sparked their 34-27 halftime lead. A jumper by Nate Swetalla gave Augustana its biggest lead of the game at 32-21 with 4:13 left in the first half. Swetalla's basket came during a stretch of 5:19 that saw the Pointers miss seven straight shots and commit three turnovers.

Augustana clearly attempted to take away UW-Stevens Point's perimeter offense, which averages 10 three-pointers per game. However, the Pointers still managed to get long-range shots and hit 11 three-pointers in the game. Pete Rortvedt (Minocqua/Lakeland), who scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half, connected three times from behind the arc in the first six minutes as the Pointers quickly trimmed the lead to two points.

UW-Stevens Point took a short-lived five-point lead and the teams traded baskets until it was tied at 54-54 and Rortvedt hit a three from the top of the key with 5:13 left. After exchanging baskets again, Jon Krull scored a three-point play to put the Pointers ahead 62-56 with 3:35 remaining.

Augustana cut the lead to 62-59 with 1:38 left and the Pointers found Steve Hicklin (Sussex/Hamilton) for a wide open layup on the backside of the Vikings' press for a five-point lead. Bryan Beamish (Wisconsin Rapids/Lincoln) had a steal and Krull converted another open layup for a seemlingly safe 68-61 advantage with 35 seconds left.

Drew Wessels hit one free throw and then two more after rebounding a miss to pull Augustana within 68-64 with 25 seconds left. Beamish missed the front end of a bonus for the Pointers and the Vikings turned the ball over following the rebound, however, Beamish threw a lob pass to midcourt that Jordan Delp swiped and took the length of the court for a layup to trim the deficit to 68-66 with 12 seconds left.

Beamish then made two free throws and Wessels drove the length of the floor for a layup to keep the lead at two points with five seconds left. UW-Stevens Point's Khalifa El-Amin (Milwaukee/Rufus King) hit the second of two free throws to put the Pointers ahead by three and Krull blocked Wessels' three-point attempt at the horn.

Krull had a game-high 20 points and Beamish added 14 for the Pointers, who shot 53.6 percent in the second half and 44.4 percent for the game, but had an uncharacteristic 16 turnovers. Nate Swetalla led Augustana with 12 points as the Vikings outscored the Pointers 44-24 inside the paint.