LA CROSSE, Wis. – The UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team erased a 17-point second half deficit but the UW-La Crosse Eagles held on for the 55-53 victory on Saturday evening at Mitchell Hall in the final regular season game for both teams.

Box Score

The Pointers opened the game on a 6-0 run but the Eagles battled back and took the lead, 7-6, just over four minutes into the contest, a lead they would never relinquish.

A three-pointer by UWL's Ryan Kruser just before the half gave the host Eagles their largest lead of the opening stanza, going in front 37-20.

In the second half, Stephen Pelkofer (Hales Corner, WI/Whitnall) tallied 12 of his team-high 18 points and a pair of Sean McGann (Baraboo, WI/Baraboo) free throws with 1:56 remaining tied the game for just the second time.

La Crosse responded as Devin Yurk completed a three-point play and Ryan Kruser connected on one of two free throws and the Eagle defense forced back-to-back Pointer turnovers, sealing the two-point victory.

Pelkofer added four assists and two steals to his game-high 18 points while Ethan Bublitz (Jackson, WI/Kettle Moraine Lutheran) chipped in with 14 points and six rebounds. McGann posted a game-best 11 rebounds on top of his 10-point performance for his second double-double of the season.

Ben Meinholz led the Eagles with 16 points on the evening.

The loss locks the Pointers into the No. 6 seed in the upcoming Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championship. UW-Stevens Point will travel to third-seeded UW-Eau Claire for a first round match-up on Wednesday, Feb. 24 at Zorn Arena.