STEVENS POINT, Wis. – Sophomore Ethan Bublitz (Jackson, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) knocked down two free throws with 1.3 seconds left as the UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team (6-3) held on for a 65-63 win over No. 20 North Central College (8-4) on Thursday night in the Sentry Classic College Feature Game.  Bublitz scored 16 of his 17 points in the second half.

Fellow sophomore Mark Nelson (Madison, Wis./Monona Grove) led all players with 18 points.  He also grabbed six rebounds, tying for the team-high with Bublitz.  Junior MJ Delmore (Wisconsin Dells, Wis./Wisconsin Dells) also scored in double figures with 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting from behind the arc.

Delmore, Nelson and Aaron Retzlaff (Randolph, Wis./Randolph) combined to score the first eight points of the game as UWSP jumped ahead early.  The Cardinals spun a 9-0 run of their own to take a brief one-point lead.

At the 8:23 mark in the first half, Delmore hit from deep to spark a 10-4 spurt by the Pointers.  In the closing minute of the first half, senior Bryce Williams (Maple Grove, Minn./Spring Lake Park) nailed his second three-pointers of the period to give UWSP an eight-point lead at the half.

Bublitz began the second half with a bucket in the opening minute of play and drilled a three as the Pointers kept the lead near double digits early in the stanza.  Bublitz completed an and-one six minutes in, but NCC went on a 6-0 run to pull within two. 

Just past the midpoint of the second half, Bublitz again hit a jumper, but the Cardinals strung together six-straight point to tie the game at 47-47.  Three-pointers by Delmore and Nelson gave UWSP a five-point edge with four minutes remaining. 

A late charge by the Cardinals put NCC up one with 32 seconds to go.  Bublitz was fouled and made the second free throw to tie the game at 63-63.  Then in the waning seconds, a Cardinal turnover followed by a foul put Bublitz at the line for the game-winning throws.

The Pointers close out non-conference play on Saturday with a home contest against Augustana at 3:00 p.m.  UWSP will wrap up the four-game home stand on Wednesday (Jan.4) in the conference opener against UW-Oshkosh.