EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – The UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team (15-11) saw homestanding UW-Eau Claire (18-8) end the first half on a 21-5 run and the Pointers fell in the first round of the WIAC Championship (presented by Culver's), 65-59.
 
Senior Brandon Spray (Prairie Du Sac, Wis./Sauk Prairie) scored a game-high 18 points.  Fellow senior Blake Ehrke (Deerfield, Wis./Deerfield) had a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.  Ethan Bublitz (Jackson, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) was also in double figures with 17 points.
 
Spray scored seven of the UWSP's first nine points as the Pointers held a slight edge, 9-7.  The teams traded baskets and a layup by Ehrke gave the Pointers a 15-13 lead with 9:07.  The Blugolds scored 21 of the next 26 points to put UWSP in a 36-20 hole at the break.
 
In the first minute of the second half, Spray buried a three as UWSP tried to claw back from an 18-point deficit.  Another triple by Spray got UWSP within 10 with 12:37 remaining.  Spray hit again from behind the arc and Bublitz drilled a three, but the Pointers still trailed by 10 with just under four minutes to go.
 
Garrett Nelson (Beaver Dam, Wis./Beaver Dam) bookended an and-one by Zach Mootz (Merrill, Wis./Merrill) in a 7-0 run as the Pointers cut the deficit to three with 1:44 left.  UWSP would get within three again with 52 seconds on the clock, but the Blugolds held on for the win.
 
Senior Ethan Bublitz (Jackson, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) ended his UWSP career with 1,386 points to rank 15th on the UWSP all-time scoring