MADISON - It wasn't a thing of beauty, but it was a win.

That's the view University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point men's basketball coach Jack Bennett had following his team's 47-37 victory over Madison Edgewood in the first game of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference-Lake Michigan Conference Challenge Saturday.

"It was a real struggle," said Bennett, whose team improved to 3-1. "It wasn't smooth and it wasn't pretty. But, like I told the players, I would much prefer talking about a win like this than a loss.

"Sometimes you mature and you get better by playing a game that is real smooth and sometimes you mature and get better by winning a game like this - one that was a real struggle."

Senior forward Brant Bailey led the Pointers for the fourth straight game in scoring, but this time managed just 13 points. Gabe Frank added 10 points for UW-SP.

"They did a great job on Brant," Bennett said. "They double-teamed him well and made things difficult for him.

"Edgewood did the best job defensively against us that anyone has all year."

Edgewood was paced by Steve Williams with 12 points.

The Pointers raced out to a quick 16-4 lead, only to see the Eagles use a 23-9 run to take a 27-25 lead into halftime.

UW-SP shot just 28.6 percent in the first half (8-of-28). The Eagles were 9-of-23 for 39.1 percent in the first period.

"We missed some uncontested shots," said Bennett. "We got some good looks, but weren't putting them in the basket.

"I can think of six or seven times we missed some easy shots that could have made this a 15-point game."

With their offense out of sync, the Pointers tightened the screws on defense in the second half, limiting the Eagles to just 13.9 percent shooting and 10 points over the final 20 minutes.

For the game, the Eagles shot 28.7 percent (14-of-59), while the Pointers finished at 28.9 percent (15-of-52).

"We saved ourselves with our defense," Bennett said. "We were not making the best decisions with the ball and could have given them some chances to get back in front, but our defense stepped up and did the job."

The Pointers also got a strong game on the boards from junior Joe Zuiker, who pulled down a career-high 18 rebounds. UW-SP outrebounded Edgewood 56-35.

"We stress to our guys to do what you do best on the court," Bennett said. "Joe has always set solid screens and tonight he rebounded like a man."

The Pointers won't get much rest before they have to take the court again as they take on Marian College today at 1 p.m. in their second game in the WIAC-LMC Challenge in Madison.

UW-SP opens WIAC action Wednesday when they host UW-Whitewater at Quandt Fieldhouse at 7 p.m.

UW-SP/Edgewood Summary

UW-Stevens Point 25 22 - 47

Edgewood 28 10 - 37

UW-SP (47) - Kind 1-7 0-2 2; Larson 2-6 0-0 6; Kadima 1-5 2-2 5; Zuiker 1-4 3-4 5; Bailey 5-13 3-4 13; Iserloth 3-6 1-2 6; Frank 4-7 0-0 10; Kornowski 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 15-52 9-14 47

EDGEWOOD (37) - Williams 6-18 0-2 12; Zander 3-5 0-0 7; Maier 2-6 0-0 6; Sadowski 0-1 1-2 1; Schilling 1-1 0-0 2; Lamphear 3-18 1-2 8; Severson 0-2 2-2 2; Fenrick 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 15-59 6-11 37.

3-pointers: UW-SP 6-20 (Kind 0-4, Larson 2-5, Kadima 1-2, Iserloth 1-2, Frank 2-5, Kornowski 0-2), Edgewood 4-18 (Williams 0-1, Zander 1-2, Maier 2-4, Sadowski 0-1, Lamphear 1-6, Malkowski 0-5).

Rebounds: UW-SP 56 (Zuiker 18), Edgewood 35.

Assists: UW-SP 9, Edgewood: 3.

Fouls: UW-SP 13, Edgewood 10. Fouled out: none.