Box Score

STEVENS POINT - The third-ranked Pointers never trailed, but UW-Eau Claire tied the score twice in the second half and had an opportunity for some last-second heroics, but the Pointer defense and clutch free-throw shooting in the game's final minutes kept UW-Stevens Point undefeated in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) play as they secured a 61-57 victory over the visiting Blugolds on Wednesday evening.

With the score tied at 56 with 3:56 remaining in the game, UW-Stevens Point used a pair of free-throws by both Bryan Beamish (Wisconsin Rapids/Lincoln) (Wisconsin Rapids) and Pete Rortvedt (Minocqua/Lakeland) (Minocqua) and one from Louis Hurd (Portage/Portage) (Portage) to hold off the visiting Blugolds, improving to 20-2 overall, 13-0 in the WIAC.

With the score tied at 4-4 in the game's opening minutes, UWSP used a 17-2 run midway through the first half to pull ahead by 15, 21-6. Not to be outdone, the Blugolds came fighting back, slowly eating away at the Pointer lead, cutting the deficit to just four points, 33-29, heading into halftime.

In the second half, Eau Claire (13-9, 7-7 WIAC) tied the score at 37 with 12:47 remaining, knotting the score for the first time since early in the game. From there, for every run the Pointers had, the Blugolds had an answer, never letting the lead get more than five points away down the stretch.

After a pair of Colin Boone free-throws tied the game at 56-56, the Pointers were sent to the line and converted on five of six attempts, giving UWSP the three point cushion with :24 remaining. After a Blugold timeout with :08 remaining, a three-pointer by Ryan Shea missed its mark but the Blugolds' Mark Tiefel came up with the offensive rebound. But as the seconds ticked away, an errant pass by Tiefel was intercepted by Hurd as the Pointers tallied the victory.

On the night, UW-Stevens Point shot 83.3 percent from the free-throw line. The Pointers, who were outrebounded 40-32 on the evening, held UW-Eau Clair to just 15.4 percent (2-of-13) from three-point land, including 0-for-6 in the second half, in their closest non-overtime test this season.

Rortvedt led the way for the Pointers, pouring in 24 points on 7-of-18 shooting from the floor including four three-pointers and going 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. Beamish added 12 points while Khalifa El-Amin (Milwaukee/Rufus King) (Milwaukee) added 11 points and added six rebounds, tied for the team high with Rortvedt.

Dan Beyer was the only Blugold in double-figures, registering 24 points and adding 13 rebounds.

UW-Stevens Point returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 14 when they travel to UW-Whitewater for a 3 p.m. showdown with the Warhawks.