OSHKOSH, Wis. – The UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team (15-7, 7-5) gave No. 3 UW-Oshkosh (22-1, 12-0) all it could handle, but the Pointers fell to the Titans, 77-70, on Saturday.
 
Nate Dodge (East Troy, Wis./East Troy) shot 7-for-11 from the field and led the Pointers with 17 points.  Ethan Bublitz (Jackson, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) added 15 points, six coming at the free throw line. 
 
Junior Brandon Spray (Prairie Du Sac, Wis./Sauk Prairie) poured in a career-high 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor.  Canon O'Heron (Bangor, Wis./Bangor) rounded out the quartet of Pointers in double figures with 10 points.
 
Bublitz and O'Heron each scored as UWSP jumped out to a 4-0 lead two minutes in, but the Titans answered with seven-straight.  Dodge scored, but UWO pulled ahead, 14-6 with 13:38 remaining in the first.  Following a Spray dunk, Dodge heated up with four points as UWSP closed the gap to 21-17 midway through the half.
 
UWO scored six-straight and the deficit quickly ballooned to 10, 27-17.  Dodge nailed a pair of triples as the Pointers rattled off eight-straight to close to within two at 27-25.  Spray buried a three and Blake Ehrke (Deerfield, Wis./Deerfield) hit from behind the arc as UWSP regained the lead, 33-32.  O'Heron scored the final four points of the half as UWSP went into the locker room with a 39-36 advantage.
 
The Titans opened the second half with an 11-2 run as the Pointers went without a field goal for nearly four minutes.  A seven-point spurt by UWSP gave the Pointers a 55-54 lead.  Dodge completed an and-one and Spray hit another three as the lead grew to five at 65-60 with 7:30 to go.
 
Bublitz buried a three to snap a scoring drought by UWSP with 2:43 to go and put UWSP behind 72-70.  The Titans scored the final five points as UWSP's upset bid fell short.
 
The Pointers return home for Senior Night on Wednesday (Feb. 13) to face UW-Stout in the final home game of the regular season. Tip-off at Quandt Fieldhouse is at 7:00 p.m.