Box Score CLAREMONT, Cal. –
Joe Ritchay (Wisconsin Rapids, WI/Lincoln) and
Stephen Pelkofer (Hales Corner, WI/Whitnall) combined for 42 points as the No. 20-ranked UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team held off No. 23 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 71-65 on Wednesday evening at Rains Gymnasium.
Box Score Ritchay shot 10-for-15 from the field on his way to a season-high 23 points, while Pelkofer added 19 on 6-for-10 shooting for UW-Stevens Point (9-3). The win was the first for the Pointers against a ranked team this season in the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
UW-Stevens Point led held its largest lead of the game at 64-53 with 1:27 remaining after a Ritchay three-pointer and two free throws by
Austin Ryf (Winneconne, WI/Winneconne). However, Tyler Gaffaney scored nine of his game-high 26 points in the final 75 seconds for Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (7-2).
Gaffaney's spurt and a three-point play, coupled with three missed free throws by UWSP, brought the Stags within two with 18 seconds remaining. However,
Jordan Lutz (Amherst, WI/Amherst) and
Sean McGann (Baraboo, WI/Baraboo) each made a pair of free throws and Jack Grodahl missed a three-pointer in the final 14 seconds as the Pointers finished their trip 2-0.
Gaffaney's 26 points came on 9-for-12 from the field and 6-for-7 from the charity stripe in 40 minutes of action. Lane added 15 points and a game-high seven rebounds. The Stags shot 53.5 percent from the floor, including 58.3 percent in the second half.
UW-Stevens Point shot an even 60.0 percent after the break and finished at 55.8 percent for the game, the team's sixth game of the season shooting at least 50.0 percent. The Pointers made at least eight threes for the fourth time this season, shooting 47.1 percent (8-for-17) from behind the arc.
UWSP made just 15-of-24 (62.5 percent) of its free throws but committed just seven turnovers, compared to 13 for CMS.
The Pointers fell in an early 5-0 hole but went on a 21-7 run to take a 21-12 lead with 8:15 remaining in the opening half. Pelkofer and Lutz combined for 15 of UWSP's first 21 points early on, as UW-Stevens Point took a 33-25 lead into the locker room.
In the second half, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps gradually chipped away at the lead, getting within two at 47-45 with 8:55 remaining with five-straight points. Five points from Ritchay and a bucket by
Jared Gjertson (Wausau, WI/D.C. Everest) helped the Pointers extend their lead back to 57-49 with 4:42 to go, setting up the late CMS attempted rally.
UW-Stevens Point returns home to face UW-Platteville in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) play on Wednesday, Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. at Bennett Court at Quandt Fieldhouse.
