LA CROSSE, Wis. – The UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team (10-4, 2-1) went scoreless from the field for more than five minutes late in the first half while host No. 17 UW-La Crosse (12-1, 2-1) pulled ahead for good in a 63-58 final on Saturday.
 
Senior Brandon Spray (Prairie Du Sac, Wis./Sauk Prairie) led all scorers with 20 points.  He also had a team-high eight rebounds.  Fellow senior Ethan Bublitz (Jackson, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) added 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the line.  Garrett Nelson (Beaver Dam, Wis./Beaver Dam) was also in double figures with 11 points.
 
Spray threw down a dunk and Bublitz nailed a three as the Pointers took an 8-3 lead six and a half minutes into the game.  Spray buried a triple with 7:08 left in the half for a 15-14 edge, but the Eagles went on an 11-2 run until UWSP next field goal, a three by Zach Mootz (Merrill, Wis./Merrill), with 1:30 left.  A pair of late threes gave UWL a 31-22 lead at the half.
 
Early baskets by Blake Ehrke (Deerfield, Wis./Deerfield) and Spray were not enough the cool off the Eagles' offense as the deficit reached 13 three minutes into the second half.  After getting the deficit down to single digits, a nearly four minute drought was followed by a 9-0 run as UWSP got within 48-43 with 7:35 left.  A Bublitz three in the closing seconds was the only made field goal in the final five minutes for the Pointers.
 
The Pointers travel to Platteville on Wednesday (Jan. 15) for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off against the Pioneers.