STEVENS POINT, Wis. – Alex Richard (Spring Green, WI/River Valley) scored 18 of his career-high 22 points in the second half as the seventh-ranked UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team won its season opener 70-59 over Saint John's on Saturday night at Bennett Court at Quandt Fieldhouse on Parents Day.

Box Score

Richard was 7-for-7 from the field in the second half and 9-for-12 for the game for UW-Stevens Point (1-0). The Pointers have now won 19 season openers in a row and 20 consecutive home openers.

Saint John's (0-1) held an eight-point lead in the first half and led by five at the break but UW-Stevens Point scored 46 points and shot 58.3 percent from the floor after halftime. UWSP also made 14-of-17 free throws in the final 20 minutes.

UW-Stevens Point used a quick 5-0 run to build 44-38 lead with 13:31 remaining but the Johnnies responded with a 9-2 run of their own to go up 47-46 three and a half minutes later.

The score remained close into the final five minutes, when the Pointers started to pull away. UWSP forced three-straight SJU turnovers in the midst of an 8-0 run that gave UW-Stevens Point a 67-55 lead with 62 seconds to go.

In addition to Richard's career night, three other Pointers scored in double figures. Austin Ryf (Winneconne, WI/Winneconne) scored 16, two shy of his career-high, Stephen Pelkofer (Hales Corner, WI/Whitnall) added 13 to match his highest-scoring game in a UWSP uniform, and Jordan Lutz (Amherst, WI/Amherst) added 11. Pelkofer had a team-high seven rebounds and he and Ryf each handed out four assists.

Mitchell Kuck led Saint John's with 16 points on 6-for-10 shooting. Alex Schmitt (14) and Joe Risinger (13) were also in double figures for the Johnnies, who were plagued by 19 turnovers.

The Pointers finished the game shooting at a 44.4 percent clip, while the Johnnies finished at an even 50.0 percent. Both teams struggled from behind the arc, shooting a combined 10-for-36 from three-point range.

UW-Stevens Point hits the road for its first away game of the season at St. Olaf on Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. The Pointers defeated the Oles, an NCAA Tournament team last season, 88-66 at home on Nov. 27 of last season.