STEVENS POINT, Wis. The UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team (9-7, 3-3) made 10 of its 13 second-half three-pointers and broke open a one-point halftime game en route to an 89-69 victory over No. 12 UW-Eau Claire (13-4, 3-3) on Saturday. The Pointers tied a season high with 15 made threes in the win.
Senior
Bryce Williams (Maple Grove, Minn./Spring Lake Park) went 6-for-7 from behind the arc and led all players with 24 points. He shot 82 percent from the field in the game and added a pair of boards and a pair of steals.
Sophomore
Ethan Bublitz (Jackson, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) had 19 points, junior
Zack Goedeke (Valders, Wis./Valders) contributed 14 with
Brad Freeborn (River Falls, Wis./River Falls) (11) and
MJ Delmore (Wisconsin Dells, Wis./Wisconsin Dells) (10) also in double figures. Bublitz and Delmore each had five assists.
The Blugolds scored the first points of the game in the opening minute at 2-0, their largest lead of the game. Williams hit his first triple of the game to break a 4-4 tie as part of a 7-2 run early.
Delmore and Williams hit three-consecutive shots from behind the arc as the Pointers built an eight-point lead with 8:19 remaining in the half. A minute later Bublitz converted an and-one, but an 11-2 run by UWEC gave the visitors a one-point edge. The teams traded buckets down the stretch and UWSP held a one-point lead at the half.
After a 42-42 tie two minutes into the second half, the Pointers scored 13-straight points that included three-pointers by Bublitz and
Drew Fredrickson (Mount Horeb, Wis./Mount Horeb). UWSP hit eight-straight three-point attempts to grow the lead to 18 with five minutes remaining.
Goedeke converted a layup with 2:37 to go as the Pointers' lead hit a game-high 21-point advantage. Williams hit his sixth from long range with 1:17 remaining and neither team scored after that.
The Pointers head to UW-Whitewater on Wednesday to close out the first half of conference play. UWSP will be back home next Saturday (Jan. 28) at 7:00 p.m. versus UW-River Falls.
