Box Score STEVENS POINT, Wis. – A trio of runs in the second half helped the No. 1 UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team pull away from visiting UW-La Crosse in the second half of a 74-61 win in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) action on Saturday afternoon at Bennett Court at Quandt Fieldhouse.

Box Score | Photo Gallery

UW-Stevens Point (12-0, 3-0 WIAC) led 42-41 with 14:48 remaining in the game before the first of the runs gave the Pointers an eight-point lead over the Eagles (9-4, 3-1 WIAC). During the run, UWSP's defense held UW-La Crosse to three-straight missed field goals and two turnovers. Jordan Lutz (Amherst, WI/Amherst)'s three, the Pointers' first of the game, at the 13:13 mark was the first made three-pointer for UW-Stevens Point in the game.

The Eagles responded with five consecutive points of their own to get back within three, but the Pointers then scored the next seven to build a ten-point advantage. Baskets from Stephen Pelkofer (Hales Corner, WI/Whitnall) and Trevor Hass (New London, WI/New London/Augustana (SD)) started the run and Austin Ryf (Winneconne, WI/Winneconne) capped it with a three to give UWSP a 56-46 lead with 8:56 remaining.

UW-La Crosse cut the UWSP lead down to four with 7:26 to go but UW-Stevens Point quickly regained a double-digit lead with three made field goals in a row and a pair of free throws by Tyler Tillema (Randolph, WI/Randolph). The final run was 9-0 for the Pointers, who led by as many as 16 in the final minute.

Tillema led UW-Stevens Point with a game-high 18 points on 7-for-13 shooting and also dished out a game-high five assists. Hass added 16 points on a 5-for-11 afternoon from the field. Alex Richard (Spring Green, WI/River Valley) scored all 10 of his points in 12 minutes of action in the first half. Ryf also scored 10.

UW-La Crosse hit 12 threes on 25 attempts (48.0 percent) in the game, including a 7-for-12 first half from behind the arc that helped the Eagles build a 33-32 halftime lead. The Eagles led by as many as seven early in the first half.

Braden Tice led UW-La Crosse with 16 points and six rebounds. Calahan Skogman scored 13, while Clint Rihn and Luke Tweed added 11 and 10, respectively.

UWSP shot 56.0 percent from the field in the game and outscored the Eagles 40-16 in the paint. The Pointers also held advantages in points off turnovers, 17-7, and bench points, 15-4, in the game. A 15-3 advantage in scoring from the free-throw line helped offset UW-La Crosse's three-point shooting.

UW-Stevens Point heads to Menomonie on Wednesday for a conference match-up with UW-Stout at 7:00 p.m.