STEVENS POINT, Wis. – Four players scored in double figures and the UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team shot 61.5 percent in the first half of a 68-51 win over UW-Stout on Wednesday evening at Bennett Court at Quandt Fieldhouse.

Box Score

UW-Stevens Point (10-8, 3-4 WIAC) shot 16-for-26 (61.5 percent) from the floor in the first half to race out to a 40-22 lead at the break. UW-Stout (4-13, 0-7 WIAC) outscored the Pointers 29-28 in the second half but never got closer than 13 in the second half.

Stephen Pelkofer (Hales Corner, WI/Whitnall) shot 5-for-9 from the field to score a game-high 14 points and Brad Freeborn (River Falls, WI/River Falls) came off the bench to score 13, one shy of his career high, on 5-for-7 shooting with three three-pointers. Ethan Bublitz (Jackson, WI/Kettle Moraine Lutheran) had 12 points, two blocks and three steals, while Zack Goedeke (Valders, WI/Valders) scored 11.

UW-Stevens Point shot a season-best 51.0 percent (25-for-49) from the field and tied its season high with 11 made three-pointers in the win on 50.0 percent shooting from deep.

UW-Stevens Point started out hot, connecting on its first five shots to take a 12-5 lead in the first 3:15 of play. Pelkofer and Bublitz each had five points during the quick start but the Blue Devils held the Pointers scoreless for the next 5:18 to take the lead at 14-12.

With the Pointers leading 17-16, the hosts went on a 12-2 run to take the first double-digit lead of the game at 29-18 with 5:02 left in the opening half. Freeborn scored five points during the spurt and UW-Stevens Point stretched its lead to 18 at the half after a late Drew Fredrickson (Mount Horeb, WI/Mount Horeb) three.

UW-Stevens Point had 13 assists on 16 made field goals in the first half and scored 12 points off nine UW-Stout turnovers. Goedeke had 10 of his 11 points before the break, while Fredrickson and Freeborn each had eight.

After trailing by as many as 25 midway through the second half, UW-Stout cut the deficit to 16 at 55-39 with 8:30 to play. However, UW-Stevens Point increased its lead back to 23 with a 7-0 run. The Blue Devils came right back with 10 consecutive points to get within 13 with 2:15 left but that was as close as the visitors would get.

John Lahti was the lone UW-Stout player to score in double figures, scoring 10 on 4-for-7 shooting. The Blue Devils outscored the Pointers 38-22 in the game and held a 32-26 advantage on the glass.

The Pointers travel to UW-Oshkosh to face the Titans on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 3 p.m.