Box Score

 STEVENS POINT – The fourth-ranked UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team used a 21-2 run early to pull away from Lawrence University and hand the Vikings their first loss with a 75-56 victory tonight at Quandt Fieldhouse.

 The Pointers improve to a record of 5-1 overall, while the Vikings drop to an overall record of 4-1. The Pointers have won 34 consecutive home games against non-conference opponents in the regular season. They have also won 25 straight against teams from the Midwest Conference.

 Lawrence had an early 6-2 lead with 17:58 left in the first half, but the Pointers then went on a 21-2 run over the next seven minutes to take a 23-8 lead with over 11 minutes left in the half. Stevens Point then had its biggest lead of the half with 4:13 on the clock after a Bryan Beamish (Wisconsin Rapids/Lincoln) (Jr.-Wisconsin Rapids/Lincoln) three pointer.

 The Vikings however finished the half strong outscoring the Pointers 12-2 in the final four minutes. Lawrence ended the half in dramatic fashion when John Dekker grabbed the rebound off a Pointer miss and heaved the ball 93 feet into the bottom of the net as time expired. The score at the half was 38-26 in favor of the Pointers.

 Stevens Point shot 62 % in the first half and 3-for-7 from behind the three-point line. The Vikings shot 37 % for the half. The Pointer bench outscored the Lawrence bench 13-5, including nine points from Louis Hurd (Portage/Portage) (Fr.-Portage).

 The Pointers put away any hope the Vikings had of a comeback early in the second half when they outscored Lawrence 11-3 in the first four minutes. Lawrence went on a 9-0 run midway through the second half to cut the lead back to 12, but that's as close as they would get as the Pointers extended the lead back to 21 with two minutes left in the game. Stevens Point ended up winning by a final score of 75-56.

 The Pointers shot 56 % from the field in the game and were 6-for-20 on three-point attempts. It is the second straight game the Pointers were held below seven three-point field goals. Prior to the last two games, Stevens Point had made at least seven three-pointers in 31 consecutive games. Lawrence finished at 37 % for the game and was just 1-for-15 on three-point attempts.

 Steve Hicklin (Sussex/Hamilton) (Sr.-Sussex/Hamilton) tied for game-high with 16 points. Louis Hurd (Portage/Portage) added 14 points off the bench, Bryan Beamish (Wisconsin Rapids/Lincoln) chipped in with 13 points, while Jerome Wotachek (Mishicot/Mishicot) (Jr.-Mishicot) had 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Khalifa El-Amin (Milwaukee/Rufus King) (Jr.-Milwaukee/Rufus King) had a season-high six assists to lead the Pointers. Andy Hurley had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Vikings.

 The Pointers hit the road this week for three non-conference games. They will begin at Viterbo on Monday night. The tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.