Thu 4-Jan-2001

Pointer men's basketball team hangs close but falls, 70-60
By Jesse Horne
Journal staff

Pointer forward Rich Steif (45) tries to gain control of the basketball Wednesday night at Quandt Gymnasium. (Journal photo by Tom Kujawski)

The second half of the 2000-2001 UW-Stevens Point men's basketball season is viewed as the "meat and potatoes" part of the schedule, according to head coach Jack Bennett.

If that's the case, Wednesday's matchup against Eau Claire was the finest filet mignon accompanied with a glass of chardonnay.

But the Pointers were not able to enjoy their meal as the Blugolds feasted on a 70-60 victory. It was Eau Claire's first win at Quandt Fieldhouse since 1994 and snapped Stevens Point's 14-game home winning streak.

"We made a couple of goals at the end of last year and one of them was to get wins in the three places us seniors hadn't won at - Platteville, Oshkosh and here," said Blugold guard Matt Fermanich. "We came in focused and I think the breaks went our way for once."

The loss drops the Pointers to 10-2 overall and 2-2 in the WIAC. Eau Claire improves its record to 9-4 overall and 3-2 in conference play.

"If we are to stay in the race for the conference title, we have to play better than we did tonight," Bennett said. "We were beaten by a good team and we did not play exceptionally well."

Joe Zuiker began the game strong for UW-SP by hitting two quick baskets. His second jumper gave UW-SP an 8-6 lead with 17 minutes left in the first half. It was to be the last lead the Pointers would hold.

Eau Claire opened up an 11-1 run led by All-American Sherm Carstensen. He scored five of his 17 points during the five-minute rally.

Bennett was forced to make some big substitutions early and they paid off with a basket by Rich Steif to trim the Pointer deficit to 19-11.

Jay Bennett further fueled the UW-SP fire with a deep 3-point basket to bring the Pointers to within one.

Jason Larson attempted to bring the Blugolds back on the attack. His 3-pointer with just over six minutes to go in the first half increased their lead to 23-18. He finished as the Blugolds' top scorer with 18 points.

"Jason is tough and very instrumental to our team's success," said Eau Claire head coach Terry Gibbons. "He is just a person that loves the game of basketball and it shows in the way he plays."

Steif remained instrumental off the Pointer bench with a jumper. The Pointers were even at 28-28 with just more than two minutes remaining in the first half.

But the Blugolds scored the half's final five points and had a 33-28 edge at halftime.

Both teams were cautious in their scoring in the first half as no player cracked double-digit scoring in the first 20 minutes. Carstensen and Jason Larson each had nine points for the Blugolds while Zuiker scored eight points.

Coming out of the locker room, the Pointers sought to regain the momentum. Quick baskets by Zuiker and Iserloth trimmed their deficit to 33-32. Iserloth finished as the game's leading scorer with 19 points.

Jason Larson led a Blugold drive which put Eau Claire ahead by seven. With a healthy dose of body English on his basket, the Pointers trailed 39-32 and were in need of a run of their own to stay alive.

Four times in the second half, the Pointers were able to tie the score. Their final tie was achieved on a miraculous 3-point shot by Jay Bennett to tie the game at 59-59 with 3:21 remaining.

But Todd Marks copied Bennett's shot with a 24-foot 3-point shot of his own and the Blugolds regained the lead at 62-59.

The next game for both teams will be versus WIAC leader Platteville. The Pointers will face the Pioneers Saturday in Platteville while the Blugolds will host the Pioneers next Wednesday.