EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – The UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team (14-7, 6-4) saw a double-digit first half lead turn into a double-digit deficit in the second half as UW-Eau Claire (15-6, 6-4) took a 75-66 win over the Pointers.
 
Garrett Nelson (Beaver Dam, Wis./Beaver Dam) led a trio of Pointers in double figures with 18 points.  Ethan Bublitz (Jackson, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) added 15 and Matt Koerner (West Bend, Wis./West) scored 12.  Blake Ehrke (Deerfield, Wis./Deerfield) was close to a double-double with nine points and a game-high eight rebounds.
 
Koerner and Nelson combined for nine early points as UWSP rallied from a 6-0 hole to take a 12-11 advantage.  Zach Mootz (Merrill, Wis./Merrill) broke a 13-13 tie with a three-pointer as the Pointers used a 12-0 run to go up 24-13.  The wheels would fall off after the run as Nelson's bucket with 1:49 left in the half was the lone field goal in the final 8:29 as UWSP held a slim 29-27 edge at the break.
 
The Pointers hit three early baskets in the second half, but a rim-rattling dunk swung the momentum squarely in the Blugolds' favor sparking an 11-2 run.  When Mootz converted an and-one UWSP was behind 41-40 and would trail the remainder of the game.  Another big burst by UWEC, an 11-0 run, pushed the deficit to 14 with 6:12 left.
 
UWSP will begin a two-game homestand on Wednesday (Feb. 12) at 7:00 p.m. versus UW-Oshkosh. The first 750 fans will receive the third set of trading cards.