Box Score In a tightly-contested game that featured nine ties and 19 lead changes, it was UW-Stevens Point that had the game's final spurt for a 67-64 win over UW-La Crosse in a matchup of undefeated Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball opponents.

The Pointers took over sole possession of first place in the WIAC with the victory, improving to 7-0 overall and 4-0 in the league. UW-La Crosse had a six-game winning streak snapped and fell to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the WIAC.

Pete Rortvedt (Minocqua/Lakeland) led the Pointers with 23 points and scored nine of his points in the final five minutes of the game. Rortvedt hit a key three-pointer with 4:42 left that put the Pointers ahead 55-54 and his short jumper with 2:36 left put the Pointers ahead for good at 59-57.

UW-La Crosse missed on the ensuing possession and Steve Hicklin (Sussex/Hamilton) rebounded for the Pointers. Hicklin followed with a pull-up, 15-foot jumper on the other end for a 61-57 lead with 1:48 remaining. Joe Werner answered for the Eagles, but the Pointers worked the ball into Jon Krull for an inside basket with 59 seconds left to regain the four-point cushion. Chris Ask responded with a jumper for UW-La Crosse with 37 seconds left, but the Eagles were forced to foul and Rortvedt made four straight free throws down the stretch. The Pointers made 12 of 13 free throws for the game.

The first half of the game was especially tight with neither team holding bigger than a four-point lead with seven ties and 13 lead changes. UW-Stevens Point led 29-28 at intermission and opened up a three-point lead when Khalifa El-Amin (Milwaukee/Rufus King) drove the baseline for a layup. UW-La Crosse then went on a 10-point run to open up the largest lead by either team at 38-31 with 15:17 left.

Bryan Beamish (Wisconsin Rapids/Lincoln) followed with a three-pointer after the Pointers' first offensive rebound of the game with 14:29 left and the Pointers eventually took the lead on another three-pointer by Beamish with 11:16 left at 44-42. Neither team led again by more than three points until Ask connected on a short jumper in the lane to put the Eagles ahead 54-50 with 5:48 left that preceded a five-point Pointers' spurt.

Jon Krull added 14 points, including 11 in the second half, for UW-Stevens Point. Beamish had 13 points as the Pointers shot 45.1 percent from the field and nine-for-21 from three-point range.

Ask had a game-high 21 points for the Eagles. Brandon Brown added 13 points and seven rebounds, while Chris Fehrenbach had 11 points, including three three-pointers.