PLATTEVILLE, Wis. –
Joe Ritchay (Wisconsin Rapids, WI/Lincoln) had 18 points and 10 rebounds for his second-career double-double to lift the No. 15 UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team to a 67-55 victory over UW-Platteville on Saturday night at Bo Ryan Court.
Box Score Ritchay shot 6-for-15 from the field, including a season-high four three-pointers, and grabbed eight rebounds in the second half for UW-Stevens Point (18-4, 12-1 WIAC) The win was the fifth straight for the Pointers and completed a regular-season sweep of UW-Platteville (15-7, 8-5 WIAC).
Early in the second half, the Pioneers cut a seven-point deficit to one with a 6-0 run with 15:03 remaining. However, a three by Ritchay started a 7-0 UWSP run to give the Pointers a 41-33 lead with 12:57 to go.
UW-Stevens Point would not look back the rest of the way, as the closest UW-Platteville got was six with 8:37 on the clock. The Pointers led by as many as 14 down the stretch and made 12-of-14 (85.7 percent) of their free throws after halftime.
Three other UWSP players joined Ritchay in double figures in the game.
Austin Ryf (Winneconne, WI/Winneconne) made three three-pointers on his way to 14 points and played all 40 minutes, while
Stephen Pelkofer (Hales Corner, WI/Whitnall) added 13.
Sean McGann (Baraboo, WI/Baraboo) came off the bench to score 10 and made 6-of-8 free throws.
Jake Manning led UW-Platteville with a game-high 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Boston Johnson provided 13 points, going 7-for-10 at the charity stripe for the Pioneers, who shot 47.5 percent in the game but were just 1-for-8 from behind the arc.
UW-Stevens Point shot 45.1 percent from the floor and committed just six turnovers in the game. The Pointers held advantages of 18-7 in points off turnovers and 14-4 in bench scoring. UWSP got 12 of its 14 bench points in the second half.
In the first half, the Pointers jumped out to an 8-3 lead early on and led by as many as nine in the opening seven-plus minutes. The Pioneers led by three late in the half but UWSP closed the half on an 8-0 run to take a five-point lead at the break.
UW-Stevens Point hosts No. 1 UW-Whitewater on Wednesday, Feb. 11 at Bennett Court at Quandt Fieldhouse. Fans are encouraged to wear gold for the 7 p.m. tipoff on Gold Nite.
