Thu 11-Jan-2001

Pointers rally to win after sluggish first half
By Jesse Horne
Journal staff

Pointer forward Rich Steif powers toward the basket Wednesday nigth against River Falls at Quandt Gymnasium. (Journal photo by Tom Kujawski)

When the UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team entered the locker room at halftime Wednesday, it trailed WIAC-leading River Falls by 10 points and appeared sluggish in nearly every offensive category.

In the locker room, coach Jack Bennett spoke to his Pointer team in a "raw and emotional" way, he said.

"We got after these kids at halftime about playing with the kind of guts and courage that is necessary," he said.

Whether it was guts or courage, the Pointers drastically reversed their offensive output in the second half. They powered their way to a 74-59 win against the Falcons at the Quandt Fieldhouse and assumed a share of the conference lead.

The win improves UW-SP's record to 4-2 in the WIAC and 12-2 overall.

Trailing 33-23, the Pointers began their climb back into the game with a jumper by Josh Iserloth. After two missed free throws by the Falcons' Kevin Backer, Joe Zuiker answered with a jumper to cut the deficit to six.

Kalonji Kadima followed up with a deep 3-point shot to bring the score to 33-30. It was UW-SP's first successful shot from behind the arc in 11 attempts.

The belief from the Pointer bench was the 3-point baskets would finally fall, Bennett said.

"We are too good of a shooting team to have this happen," he said. "I did think we did rush a few in the first half. But we got our feet set in the second half and were moving the ball with good rhythm.

"When the basket accepts the ball, it just seems like everything else goes," Bennett said.

After a momentary lull in the scoring, Brent Larson was fouled while attempting a 3-point basket. His free throws tied the score for the first time since the score was 3-3 early in the first half.

River Falls followed the Pointer run with a 5-0 run of its own to bring the score to 38-33 with 15:19 to play in the game.

But the Pointers answered with a 10-0 run of their own to put them ahead 43-38 with 13:32 remaining in the game. The rally was highlighted with 3-pointers by Kadima and Jay Bennett.

Once the Pointers assumed the lead, the kept and increased it with solid shooting at the charity stripe. UW-SP hit 13 free throws out of 14 attempts.

"It's nice to be shooting in a position of power," Bennett said. "When we were fouled we were able to really cash in at the free throw line.

The Falcons opened up the game on the attack with a 9-3 run to open the game. But the Pointers bounced back to trim their deficit to one thanks to five points from Zuiker.

Zuiker, who finished as the game's leading scorer with 20 points, was flawless from the field. He became only the fifth Pointer to hit all nine of his shots from the field.

UW-SP is back in action Saturday when they travel to Oshkosh.