LAS VEGAS  There were more bricks than usual, and some atypical scoring droughts. But top-ranked Whitman was sure-footed defensively -- and nimble enough in transition -- to dance past the potholes which have already tripped other nationally-ranked teams on one of Division III's biggest stages Friday in the City of Lights.

Tim Howell scored eight of the Blues' final 10 points as Whitman held off four-time national champion University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, 77-64, at the eighth annual D3hoops.com Classic at South Point Arena.

The Blues (10-0) led by as many as 24 points -- and never by fewer than 11 -- in the second half, despite struggling from the outside and at the free throw line. Howell's game-high 22 points, Joey Hewitt's 17 points and seven rebounds, Austin Butler's standard crammed sheet (11 points, six rebounds, three assists, three steals, three blocked shots), and 40 minutes of full-court gadfly defense preserved an undefeated season with a major challenge looming here Saturday.

"Wisconsin-Stevens Point is the Duke of our level. They've won four national championships in 13 years," Whitman head coach Eric Bridgeland said. "To impose our style early, even though we didn't shoot well, and to push (the lead) to 20-plus in the second half rather than have it go the other way, was crucial. We won hustle plays."

Whitman will close out the Classic with what could be its biggest test of the season, to date: a 6 p.m. showdown Saturday against 14th-ranked Ohio Wesleyan. The Battling Bishops (9-1) opened the tournament by dismantling sixth-ranked Ramapo 98-69 on Thursday, hitting a tourney- and school-record 25 3-pointers.

"We have tremendous respect for their program," Bridgeland said of Ohio Wesleyan.

As if to underline the pitfalls which inhere in neutral-court games against unfamiliar opponents under watchful national eyes, Ramapo fell to unranked Central in one of Friday's early games.

Wisconsin-Stevens Point (6-5) on Friday wielded the basketball underdog's favored slingshot -- the 3-ball -- to hang around throughout, hitting 10 of 25 from deep.

The Pointers claimed the program's fourth national title in 2014-15 -- Howell's first year collegiately. He played the role of closer on Friday, steadying the briefly-wobbled Blues with a baseline floater at the 7:41 mark of the second half to end a five-minute, 36-second sequence without a Whitman field goal.

After Butler blocked a 3-point attempt and glided length-of-court for a layup, Hewitt hit a jumper. Howell had the Blues' next two buckets and was 4 for 4 from the free throw line inside the final 48 seconds.

Howell was 6 for 6 at the stripe, his teammates 6 for 13.

Whitman also had a rough go from beyond the 3-point arc, making just 7 of 25. But the Blues forced 22 turnovers, edged UWSP on the glass and held the Pointers to 38.8 percent shooting (14 of 36) on 2-point field goals.

"When you're pressing a team all game, and you're really pressing them, to hold them to 39 percent from the field -- it doesn't get much better than that," said Bridgeland. "That's as fundamental a team as we're going to see. They pivot, they pass, they cut."

Whitman's pressure forced a modest 12 turnovers in the first half, and also sped up the Pointers, whose preference for methodical play was overpowered by the Blues' running game. Whitman led 43-26 at the break.

Point made enough 3-pointers -- M.J. Delmore was 3 of 4 from deep and Nate Dodge 3 of 7 -- to keep the first half from becoming a blowout. But Whitman gradually built separation with a series of transition scoring flurries.

A 10-0 run to the 13:40 mark, capped by Jaron Kirkley's jumper in the paint, made it 17-6, early. Butler had two steals and five points in that burst.

Hewitt's 3-pointer sparked a 7-0 run as the clock slipped under six minutes. Howell sandwiched transition layups around a corner 3 by Stewart -- the recipient of a Howell dime after the senior point guard sliced across the key and navigated traffic with an around-the-back dribble -- as the Blues finished the half on a 7-3 spurt.

Whitman's efficiency on the break offset a difficult go outside the three-point arc, where the Blues hit just 5 of 15.

Whitman's half-court defense was at least as decisive as its more heralded full-court mayhem. The Blues held the Pointers to 17.6 percent shooting (3 for 17) on 2-point field goals before recess.

Robert Colton, Howell and Hewitt had unanswered baskets to open the second half, Hewitt's 3-pointer on an assist from Howell pushing Whitman's lead to 50-26.

Delmore was 0 for 2 on 3-pointers and Dodge 0 for 1 after halftime, a credit to Whitman's defensive rotations, Bridgeland noted.

"We did a good job chasing them off the three-point line in the second half," he said.

Hewitt and Jack Stewart had two steals apiece in the game. Colton added seven rebounds, including five offensive, and two blocked shots.

Notes: Whitman was the Pointers' third consecutive ranked opponent. Wisconsin-Stevens Point lost to third-ranked Augustana on Dec. 22 and fell to No. 13 Wartburg on Thursday … UWSP beat Whitman 89-79 in overtime at the D3hoops.com Classic on Dec. 29, 2013. The Pointers were undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the country at the time.