STEVENS POINT, Wis. – Jordan Lutz (Amherst, WI/Amherst) easily surpassed his career high in scoring, pouring in 24 points to lead the No. 18-ranked UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team to a 58-51 win over UW-River Falls on Saturday evening in a matchup of two of the top-three teams in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) at the Karges Center.
 
Box Score
 
Lutz scored 18 of his career-high 24 points in the first half to keep UW-Stevens Point (13-3, 7-0 WIAC) within touching distance, trailing by three at halftime. Previously, Lutz's career high was 17 points against UW-Platteville three games ago on Jan. 7, 2015.
 
The Pointers went on to outscore UW-River Falls (6-10, 4-3 WIAC) 31-21 in the second half to remain unbeaten in conference play this season and win their sixth consecutive game. The win improves UW-Stevens Point to 36-3 in its last 39 WIAC games, dating back to the start of the 2012-13 season.
 
Lutz was 6-for-9 from the field, including 4-for-6 from behind the arc, and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line in the first half. He accounted for 18 of UWSP's 27 first-half points, as UWRF took a 30-27 lead into the break, meaning the Pointers trailed at the half for just the third time this season.
 
UW-River Falls held Lutz scoreless in the second half until the senior hit a pair of three-pointers in the span of 64 seconds, to give the Pointers a 50-45 lead with 3:11 remaining. After a Falcons' basket, Alex Richard (Spring Green, WI/River Valley) hit a layup and Stephen Pelkofer (Hales Corner, WI/Whitnall) took a steal the other way for a dunk to make it 54-47 UWSP with two minutes to go.
 
Three free throws gave the Pointers the first double-digit lead of the game with 36 seconds left before UWRF hit a late three-pointer. In addition to Lutz's scoring, Joe Ritchay (Wisconsin Rapids, WI/Lincoln) had 12 points and six rebounds, while Pelkofer added eight points, eight rebounds and three assists.
 
UW-Stevens Point shot 40.4 percent in the game, while UW-River Falls hit 43.5 percent of its shots. The Pointers made seven threes to the Falcons' four, led by Lutz's six.
 
UWRF scored the game's first five points and shot 54.2 percent in the opening half. The Pointers responded with a 13-4 run to take a 13-9 lead six minutes into the game before the Falcons built the three-point halftime lead.
 
UW-Stevens Point travels to UW-Whitewater to face the No.2-ranked Warhawks in a battle of two teams that are 7-0 in the WIAC. The teams tip-off at 7 p.m. at Kachel Gymnasium.