STEVENS POINT, Wis. – Junior
Brett Tauber (Madison, Wis./Memorial) hauled in a defensive rebound off of a missed three-pointer as the buzzer sounded as the UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team (9-5, 3-0) prevailed, 66-64, over visiting UW-La Crosse (9-5, 1-2) on Wednesday night.
Tauber scored 13 points in the win, tied for the team lead with
Mark Nelson (Madison, Wis./Monona Grove) and
Canon O'Heron (Bangor, Wis./Bangor). His game-sealing rebound was his fourth of the game. O'Heron's 13 points were a career-high and he added four rebounds.
Senior
MJ Delmore (Wisconsin Dells, Wis./Wisconsin Dells) contributed 11 points with three rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Drew Fredrickson (Mount Horeb, Wis./Mount Horeb) topped the team with six rebounds and three steals.
Nate Dodge (East Troy, Wis./East Troy) opened the game with a jumper and Delmore extended the lead to 6-0 with a triple. The Eagles answered with seven-straight to begin the seesaw battle.
Koko Songolo (Madison, Wis./Memorial) got on the board later in the half to give UWSP a 22-18 lead, his only points of the game. Moments later,
Brandon Spray (Prairie Du Sac, Wis./Sauk Prairie) drained a three to up the lead to five, 25-20. Following a
Mark Nelson (Madison, Wis./Monona Grove) bucket late, UWL scored in the closing second to take a 32-31 lead at the half.
O'Heron and Tauber scored five-straight points for UWSP to open the second half, regaining the lead at 36-32. Midway through the half, UWL reeled off a 9-0 run to take a 51-47 lead. Tauber and O'Heron combined again as the Pointers answered with a 6-0 spurt.
O'Heron completed an and-1 with 7:10 to go as UWSP held the lead. With 3:10 remaining, Fredrickson made both free throws to push the advantage back to four. A minute later, the Eagles hit a three to cut the lead to just one. Fredrickson again went to the line with just over a minute to go, but made just one for a 66-64 lead. UWL had two chances to tie or win it in the final seconds, but a jumper and a three-pointer both rimmed out as UWSP held on.
The Pointers remain at home Saturday (Jan. 13) for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off against UW-Eau Claire. It is Alumni Day with UWSP alumni playing in an intrasquad game at 4:00 p.m.
