LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team (6-5) hung with No. 1 Whitman (10-0) in a 77-64 loss at the D3Hoops Classic to close out play in 2017.  The 77 points scored by Whitman were the second-fewest for the Blues on the season.
 
Junior Nate Dodge (East Troy, Wis./East Troy) and senior MJ Delmore (Wisconsin Dells, Wis./Wisconsin Dells) poured in double-digit points with 14 and 13, respectively.  They each had five rebounds and three assists in the game.
 
Mark Nelson (Madison, Wis./Monona Grove) and Garrett Nelson (Beaver Dam, Wis./Beaver Dam) scored nine points apiece.  Drew Fredrickson (Mount Horeb, Wis./Mount Horeb) pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.
 
Delmore nailed a three a minute into the game to give UWSP a 3-2 edge early.  Dodge hit a three to regain the lead at 6-5, but a five and a half minute drought from the field saw the Blues go on a 12-1 run. 
 
Midway through the period, Dodge buried another triple to cut the deficit to seven at 24-17.  Delmore and Dodge combined for three more three-pointers over the final 5:51 of the half to account for all of UWSP's scoring as the Pointers faced a 43-26 halftime deficit.
 
Delmore ended a 7-0 spurt by Whitman to begin the second half.  Brett Tauber (Madison, Wis./Memorial) got into the scoring column with a bucket four minutes into the half to start a 10-2 run by UWSP. 
 
A five-and-a-half minute defensive stand by the Pointers helped to limit the Blues' offense, but during the dry spell, UWSP was only able to get within 17 points.  A Fredrickson three followed by a Delmore bucket got the Pointers within 12, but the top-ranked Blues were too strong down the stretch to remain undefeated.
 
The Pointers continue a tough four-game stretch with a 7:00 p.m. tip at No. 8 UW-River Falls on Wednesday (Jan. 3) to open conference play.