STEVENS POINT, Wis. – Austin Elledge (Highland HS, Highland, Ill.) scored 19 of his game-high 27 points in the final 9½ minutes Sunday, as Augustana outscored Wisconsin-Stevens Point 25-9 to defeat the Pointers 68-60 at Quandt Field House. The Vikings improved to 7-3 on the season, while UWSP dropped to 7-2.
 
Brandon Spray's three-pointer with 9:39 to play put the Pointers on top 51-43, matching their largest lead of the game. They still led 53-46 after two Garrett Nelson free throws at the 8:45 mark, but Elledge scored all of Augustana's points in a 15-1 run over the next 5½ minutes.
 
Elledge started the spurt with a three-pointer and followed with a conventional three-point play. His bucket with 6:49 remaining gave the Vikings a 54-53 lead—their first since early in the second half. Stevens Point's Ethan Bublitz split a pair of free throws 19 seconds later to forge one final tie, but another Elledge hoop put the visitors on top for good at 56-54. The Viking senior hit another three and his field goal at the three-minute mark made it 61-54.
 
A Luke Johnson (Longmont HS, Longmont, Colo.) trey from the left wing with 2:19 left put Augustana up 64-56. Those were the only Viking points in the final 8½ minutes not scored by Elledge, who went 4-for-4 at the free throw line in the final 42 seconds to secure the win.
 
Bublitz scored eight points and Spray five as Stevens Point jumped on top 15-8 after eight minutes. Augustana answered with a Pierson Wofford (Springfield Lutheran HS, Springfield, Ill.) layup, a Justin Bottorff (Quincy Notre Dame HS, Quincy, Ill.) three-pointer and a Donovan Ferguson (Downers Grove South HS, Darien, Ill.) dunk to tie it at 15-all and it would remain a one-possession game for the rest of the first half. A Wofford basket drew the Vikings to within 27-26 at intermission.
 
Another Wofford bucket to open the second half gave Augustana a 28-27 advantage, but Spray scored five points as the Pointers responded with a 7-0 run. They would lead until Elledge caught fire.
 
Elledge's career high came on 9-of-16 shooting from the field, including three of six from beyond the arc. He also went six of seven from the foul line. Wofford scored 14 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and Micah Martin (Iowa City HS, Iowa City, Iowa) added 10 points and eight boards.
 
Spray led Stevens Point with 20 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Bublitz dropped in 19 and Nelson a dozen.
 
Coach Grey Giovanine's outfit finished 25 of 51 (.490) from the floor, six of 21 (.286) from three-point range and 12 of 20 (.600) from the charity stripe. The Vikings limited UWSP to .364 (20-55) shooting from the field, including .192 (5-26) from long range, and won the battle of the boards 43-31. The Pointers committed just nine turnovers to Augustana's 18, but converted just 15 of 26 (.577) free throws.
 
On Sunday, December 29, the Vikings are back on the road versus another Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opponent, taking on 9-0 and 15th-ranked UW-La Crosse at 3:00 p.m.