The Pointers, ranked ninth in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, committed just one turnover in each half and hit 13 three pointers while shooting 56.5 percent from behind the arc. The nation’s top free throw shooting team of a year ago also sealed the game by making 20 of its 22 free throws.
UW-Stevens Point (4-0/1-0 WIAC) defeated a ranked opponent for the 19th time in its last 21 tries with its victory over the 19th-ranked Titans. It was the Pointers’ third road win over a ranked foe already this season, having also defeated Carroll College and Lawrence University.
Pete Rortvedt led the shooting barrage, hitting his first three three-point attempts and scoring 11 points in the first 7:03 of the game. The Pointers led 21-20 with 7:35 left in the first half before an eight-point scoring run gave them a nine point lead and eventually led to a 38-29 halftime advantage.
UW-Oshkosh closed to three points at 45-42 on a pair of Jim Capelle free throws with 13:28 left and trailed 47-44 with 12:38 left before Jon Krull and Steve Hicklin hit back-to-back three-pointers to push the Pointers’ lead back to nine points. Bryan Beamish added a three-point play to make it 56-44 and finish a nine-point scoring run. Matt Moses hit two free throws and Rortvedt buried another three-pointer to put the Pointers ahead 64-50 with 7:27 to play.
UW-Oshkosh came no closer than nine points the rest of the way as the Pointers finished the game by making seven straight free throws.
Capelle led the Titans with 23 points and Kerry Gibson had 12 points after scoring just one in the first half. Gibson also tallied 10 rebounds, three blocked shots and three assists. The Titans also received 15 points and two assists from Chad Doedens and a career-high 13 points and three assists from D.J. Marsh.
UW-Stevens Point had all five starters score in double figures. Rortvedt finished with 21 points, while Hicklin had 19, Krull 17 and Bryan Beamish and Khalifa El-Amin 10 each. Rortvedt and Hicklin each hit five three pointers. Krull now has 1,004 career points and became the 26th player in UW-Stevens Point history to surpass the 1,000-point mark. Krull\'s performance against the Titans also included six rebounds, four assists and four steals, all team bests.