NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The No. 23 St. Olaf College men's basketball team fell to No. 12 UW-Stevens Point, 54-41, in a non-conference contest Tuesday evening at Skoglund Center.

UW-Stevens Point (1-0) started the game with back-to-back three-pointers by Ethan Bublitz and Nate Dodge and never looked back, as the Pointers never trailed in the game. UW-Stevens Point and St. Olaf (0-2) were meeting for the eighth-straight season, with the Pointers snapping the Oles' two-game winning streak in the series. St. Olaf had won three of the last four meetings in the series.

Despite never leading in the game, the Oles were within six points, 41-35, with 11:12 to go in the second half before the Pointers went on an 11-1 run to take a 16-point lead. Dodge had seven of UW-Stevens Point's 11 points in the run that put the game out of reach after a Ben Scheffley three-pointer had got St. Olaf within six.

Senior Austin Korba and junior Travis Fauchald led St. Olaf with seven points each, while Korba added six rebounds and Fauchald had three rebounds and a block. Junior Troy Diggins Jr. posted five points and seven rebounds. The loss was St. Olaf's first in a home opener since 2012-13.

Dodge scored a game-high 16 points to go with eight rebounds for the Pointers, who got 14 points from Canon O'Heron. Bublitz chipped in with eight points, seven rebounds and an assist.

UW-Stevens Point made its first three three-pointers of the game to take a 12-2 lead less than three minutes in, with Bublitz adding two early threes for the Pointers. The Oles answered with a 9-1 run to get within 13-11 midway through the opening half.

The Pointers took a 10-point lead, the largest of the half, at 3:44 with a jumper from Mark Nelson, but a three-pointer from Fauchald brought the Oles within six, 28-22, at the half.

A Diggins Jr. layup to start the second half made it a four-point game, but that was as close as St. Olaf would get the rest of the way, as the Pointers scored the next five points to go back up by nine and led by at least six for the remainder of the game.

The Oles are back to action this weekend when they travel to Newberg, Ore. for the Bruin Classic. St. Olaf opens the tournament against No. 6 Whitworth on Friday, Nov. 16 at 1 p.m. PT before facing George Fox the next day at 4 p.m. PT.