Box Score

STEVENS POINT - Senior Matt Moses (Fond du Lac) scored 15 of his game high 23 points in the second half and helped the UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team fend off a scare from UW-Stout to advance to the WIAC Tournament Championship game with an 87-72 victory Thursday evening.

Both teams battled back in forth until midway through the first half when the Blue Devils put together a 3-16 run that seen a Pointer led turn into a 32-23 Blue Devils advantage.

The Pointers were able to cut the deficit to four points at half time thanks to baskets by Moses, Ross Forman (Minneapolis, MN) and Dan Tillema (Randolph).

UW-Stout came out firing in the second half and were able to reach their largest led off the game at 10 points with 17:26 left in the game.

At the 16:52 mark Moses hit a three pointer which helped him surpass the 1,000 point mark for his career. He now stands at 1,014 points ranking him in 27th place on the all-time scoring list for the Pointers.

Point continued to battle and managed to get back in the game thanks to a pair of free throws by Scott Hoelzel (Kaukauna) giving the Pointers a 58-57 advantage with 9:17 remaining.

The Pointers then shut down the Blue Devils and a flurry of free throws and made baskets seen Point scoring 29 of the final 44 points resulting in a final score of 87-72.

In the second half Point shot 53.6 percent from the floor compared to Stout's 43.8 percent. The Pointers were able to take control of the game in the second from the free throw line hitting 19 of their 23 attempts compared to just three from the Blue Devils.

Leading scores for the Pointers were Moses with 23, Louis Hurd (Portage) with 14, Jared Jenkins (Milwaukee) with 12 and Nick Krull (Marshall) with 10. Tillema also added 10 points off the bench and Forman score eight points and gathered a team high nine rebounds.

The Blue Devils were led in scoring by Jerrel Enerson-Matthews with 22 points. Thomas Maholn added 14 while Michael Fant chipped in with 11 off the bench.

UW-Stevens Point (22-4, 12-4 WIAC) will travel to UW-Whitewater to face the Warhawks in the WIAC Championship game on Saturday evening. The Pointers will be going for their sixth overall WIAC Tournament Championship and second straight. Tipoff for the game is scheduled for 7 p.m.