STEVENS POINT, Wis. – Mark Nelson hit a clutch three-pointer in the final minute and Sean McGann sank two free throws with 15 seconds left to give the UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team a 69-67 win over UW-La Crosse on Saturday night at Bennett Court at Quandt Fieldhouse.
With UW-Stevens Point (9-8, 2-4 WIAC) and UW-La Crosse (10-7, 4-2 WIAC) locked in a 67-67 tie with 34 seconds remaining, McGann was fouled on a jumper near the free-throw line and the senior drained both free throws to put the Pointers up two. The Eagles got two looks at a game-tying basket out of a timeout but Jared Staege and Ben Meinholz missed jumpers in the final five seconds.
A free throw by Brad Freeborn with 2:36 gave UW-Stevens Point a 64-63 lead that they held onto until Kenny Finco made a three-pointer to put the visitors up 66-64 with 1:20 left. Nelson responded with a three from in front of the UWSP bench with 59 seconds to go to make it 67-66. Devin Yurk made one of two free throws with 34 seconds to go to set up McGann's free throws.
McGann scored a team-high 16 points and was 7-for-8 from the free-throw line in the win. Ethan Bublitz and Stephen Pelkofer each scored 14 points on 5-for-10 shooting and the pair combined for 13 rebounds. Nelson added 10 points and eight boards off the bench.
Yurk led UW-La Crosse with a game-high 17 points, 15 of which came in the second half, on 6-for-8 from the floor. Ryan Kruser and Finco combined for six three-pointers and 23 points off the Eagles' bench. Staege recorded a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds.
UW-Stevens Point shot a blistering 62.5 percent from the field in the first half, including 8-for-13 (61.5 percent) from behind the arc. Pelkofer had the hot hand early, making four threes in the first half, while McGann and Bublitz each had nine before the break, as the Pointers led 45-32 at the half.
The Pointers made their first six three-pointers in the early going to go up 23-12 in the first eight minutes of the game. UW-Stevens Point went on a 14-4 run after leading 9-8 to break open a double-digit lead.
UW-Stevens Point led by as many as 17 in the first half at 36-19 with 5:40 until halftime after a three by Nelson but UW-La Crosse used a 12-4 run over the next four minutes to get within nine. Eight players scored in the first half for the Pointers.
In the second half, the Eagles cut a 11-point deficit to just two behind a 9-0 run, capped by a Kruser three with 8:15 remaining. The visitors took their first lead of the second half with 5:43 left on eight quick points from Yurk.
The Pointers shot 46.8 percent (22-for-47) from the field after cooling off in the second half, while the Eagles shot 49.0 percent (24-for-49). UW-La Crosse held a 30-21 advantage in bench scoring but led for just 1:19 in the game.
UW-Stevens Point hosts UW-Stout at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 27 at Bennett Court at Quandt Fieldhouse.