STEVENS POINT, Wis. –
Ethan Bublitz (Jackson, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) gave the UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team (11-5, 3-3) a one-point lead with 7.7 seconds left, but visiting UW-Platteville (11-6, 4-2) got a put-back dunk with 2.0 seconds remaining to prevail with the 61-60 win.
Bublitz led the Pointers in scoring with a season-high 21 points. He also topped the team with six rebounds.
Canon O'Heron (Bangor, Wis./Bangor) added 19 points and three boards.
Nate Dodge (East Troy, Wis./East Troy) also contributed double figures with 12 points and he snagged five rebounds.
Brett Tauber (Madison, Wis./Memorial) put the Pointers up 2-1 a minute and a half in and O'Heron followed with a bucket for a 4-4 tie.
Drew Fredrickson (Mount Horeb, Wis./Mount Horeb) snapped a six-minute scoring drought from the field with a three-pointer with 9:32 left in the half to pull UWSP within 13-9.
Dodge hit the Pointers' next bucket from the field four minutes later after the Pioneers had built a 24-12 lead. Bublitz followed with a pair of makes from beyond the arc and UWSP trailed 31-23 at the half.
Bublitz scored four early points and O'Heron cut the deficit to four just over two minutes into the second half. O'Heron scored eight-straight for the Pointers as UWSP pulled to within two, 39-37, with 12:12 to go.
With 7:57 remaining, Dodge hit a layup to tie the game at 45-45. Fredrickson followed with a three as the Pointers regained the lead at 48-45. Bublitz nailed a three as the clock ticked under four minutes to give the Pointers a 56-52 edge.
In the final minute of play, UWSP held a one-point lead. UWP's Robert Duax scored with 14 seconds left to give the Pioneers a 59-58 lead. On the ensuing inbounds play, Bublitz drove the length of the floor and layed it in for a 60-59 UWSP lead. The Pioneers tried the same play, but the missed layup was dunked back in by Clay Gerds with 2.0 seconds left. The Pointers did not get a game-winning shot attempt off and dropped their third-straight at home.
UWSP heads to UW-Stout on Wednesday (Jan. 23) to close out the first half of league play. Tip-off in Menomonie is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.