La Crosse, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's basketball team, ranked 17th on this week's D3hoops.com Top-25 Poll, earned a 63-58 victory over UW-Stevens Point Saturday night in Mitchell Hall. The Eagles improve to 12-1 overall and 2-1 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) while the Pointers drop to 10-4 overall and 2-1 in the conference. 

It is UWL's third straight win over UW-Stevens Point. It marks the Eagles' first three-game winning streak over the Pointers since the 1975-76 and 1976-77 seasons. 

UW-Stevens Point took an 8-3 lead with 13:35 remaining in the first half on an Ethan Bublitz three-pointer. The game was tied three times in the first half, including 12-12, with 8:40 left. The Pointers took a 15-14 lead with 7:08 remaining on Brandon Spray's three-pointer, but the Eagles used a 17-7 run to end the half and lead, 31-22. Terek Nesheim hit a three-point field goal with :03 left to give UWL the nine-point halftime advantage. 

Six players scored in the first half for UWL with Nesheim leading with 10 points. The Eagles shot 59.1% (13-of-22) from the field in the first half. 

After starting one-of-seven from the field, UWL made 16 of its next 20 shots. 

The Eagles took their largest lead of the game at 48-34 with 12:47 remaining on Sam Burkart's layup. UW-Stevens Point cut the deficit to 48-43 with a 9-0 run as Spray connected on a three-pointer with 7:35 left. UWL went on an 8-3 run to lead 56-46 with 3:59 remaining after Ethan Anderson's layup. The Pointers could get no closer than the final margin of five.

UWL shot 52.2% from the field, including 40.0% (eight-of-20) from three-point range, and 58.3% (seven-of-12) at the line. Zac Haese led the Eagles with 18 points while Wyatt Cook finished with 16.  Cook also had a game-high nine rebounds. Nesheim finished with 11 points, six rebounds and three assists. Luke Norcia led the Eagles with four assists and three steals.

UW-Stevens Point shot 37.0% from the field, including 29.4% (five-of-17) from three-point range, and 70.4% (19-of-27) at the line. Spray led with the Pointers with 20 points and eight rebounds. Ethan Bublitz finished with 16 points while Garrett Nelson had 11 points and team-high four assists. 

UWL returns to action Wednesday, January 15 at UW-Whitewater at 7 p.m.