THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – The No. 12 UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team (8-2) rallied from a nine-point first-half deficit for a 76-70 win over Illinois Wesleyan (8-5) in the final non-conference game of the year on Saturday.
 
Senior Nate Dodge (East Troy, Wis./East Troy) again lit up the scoreboard with a game-high 31 points on 7-of-11 shooting from three-point range.  He made 11 field goals on the night and grabbed six rebounds.
 
Canon O'Heron (Bangor, Wis./Bangor) added 14 points and snagged a team-best seven rebounds.  Drew Fredrickson (Mount Horeb, Wis./Mount Horeb) poured in 11 points for UWSP.
 
Dodge hit his first three of the night in the opening minute to give the Pointers a brief 3-2 advantage.  His next triple stopped a 7-0 run by IWU and he drilled his third of the night to get UWSP within 11-9.  Dodge poured in his fourth three of the half, but the Titans pushed the deficit to 25-16.
 
Ethan Bublitz (Jackson, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) made his only bucket of the game to begin the comeback.  Back-to-back makes by Dodge cut the IWU lead to 28-24.  O'Heron buried a three and Koko Songolo (Madison, Wis./Memorial) completed an and-one to tie the game at 30-30.  O'Heron scored five more down the stretch as UWSP took a 37-36 lead into halftime.
 
Garrett Nelson (Beaver Dam, Wis./Beaver Dam) drained both free throws to snap a 4-0 run by IWU to open the second half.  Dodge continued to hit from behind the arc with consecutive triples to power UWSP ahead, 45-42.  Fredrickson added a three and Dodge hit again from deep, but IWU kept it a one possession game.
 
The Pointers' defense took over holding the Titans without a field goal for more than six minutes and UWSP built a 64-55 lead with 6:03 to go.  The Pointers hit all eight free throws down the stretch to prevent any IWU attempt at a comeback.
 
UWSP will open conference play at home on Wednesday (Jan. 2).  Tip-off against UW-Whitewater at Quandt Fieldhouse is slated for 7:00 p.m.