RIVER FALLS, Wis. – The UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team (7-5, 1-0) out-scored No. 3 UW-River Falls (9-2, 0-1) by a 37-11 margin over the final 15 minutes of the first half to pull away for a 73-48 victory in the league opener on Wednesday.
 
Junior Mark Nelson (Madison, Wis./Monona Grove) led four Pointers in double figures with 18 points.   He was a perfect 4-for-4 from behind the arc and 2-of-2 at the free throw stripe.
 
Fellow junior Nate Dodge (East Troy, Wis./East Troy) poured in 12 points on 2-of-3 shooting from three-point range.  Canon O'Heron (Bangor, Wis./Bangor) and Koko Songolo (Madison, Wis./Memorial) each scored 10 points, a career-high for both players.  Brett Tauber (Madison, Wis./Memorial) grabbed a career-best 13 rebounds for UWSP.
 
The host Falcons jumped out to a 15-2 lead five minutes into the game.  MJ Delmore (Wisconsin Dells, Wis./Wisconsin Dells) and Mark Nelson (Madison, Wis./Monona Grove) each hit from behind the arc to begin the comeback.  Freshman Garrett Nelson (Beaver Dam, Wis./Beaver Dam) nailed a three, but the Pointers still trailed 19-13 at the midpoint of the half.
 
With just over five minutes remaining in the half, O'Heron completed an and-1 to put UWSP ahead 25-22.  Mark Nelson (Madison, Wis./Monona Grove) nailed back-to-back triples to push the Pointers' lead to nine.  A pair of layups by Garrett Nelson (Beaver Dam, Wis./Beaver Dam) to end the half put UWSP up by 13 at the break.
 
Mark Nelson (Madison, Wis./Monona Grove) hit his final three of the game as the Pointers pulled ahead 49-32 at the 15:14 mark.  After five-straight points by Dodge, Blake Ehrke (Deerfield, Wis./Deerfield) threw down a dunk to extend the lead to 20.
 
Dodge nailed another three with 2:12 to go to give the Pointers a 26-point lead, the largest of the game. 
 
The Pointers head to UW-Stout on Saturday for a 3:00 p.m. tip-off in Menomonie to end a six-game road trip.  UWSP returns home next Wednesday (Jan. 10) to face UW-La Crosse at 7:00 p.m. at Quandt Fieldhouse.