RIVER FALLS, Wis. – The UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team (9-3, 1-0) turned a two-point halftime lead into an 86-63 win at UW-River Falls (7-5, 0-1) on Saturday in the conference opener.
 
Blake Ehrke (Deerfield, Wis./Deerfield) led all scorers with a career-best 22 points and had a team-high seven rebounds.  Matt Koerner (West Bend, Wis./West) buried five three-pointers and scored a career-high 21 points.  Ethan Bublitz (Jackson, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) and Brandon Spray (Prairie Du Sac, Wis./Sauk Prairie) were also in double figures with 18 and 12 points, respectively.
 
Bublitz and Koerner hit threes early as UWSP pulled ahead, 6-5.  The teams traded buckets until the eight minute mark when UWRF put up eight straight for a 28-21 lead.
 
With just under four minutes left in the half, Koerner caught fire and nailed back-to-back triples scoring eight points in just over a minute.  A three by Zach Mootz (Merrill, Wis./Merrill) tied the game at 36-36 and two free throws in the final seconds by Bublitz put the Pointers in front, 38-36 at the half.
 
UWSP opened the second half with a three-point barrage hitting five in the first five minutes to push the lead to 10.  UWSP's defense took over, limiting UWRF to just six field goals over the final 14 minutes as the Pointers pulled away.  The Pointers shot 13-23 over the final 14 minutes, including a dunk by Spray.
 
The Pointers return home on Wednesday (Jan. 8) to face UW-Whitewater.  Tip-off is at 7:00 p.m. and the first 750 fans get the first set of trading cards.