Thu 18-Jan-2001

Pointers stave off Yellowjacket rallies
By Jesse Horne
Journal staff

UWSP's Neal Krajnik (left) and Superior's Brett Gunderson battle for a loose ball during the first half at Quandt Gym Wednesday. (Journal photo by Doug Wojcik)

The UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team was speaking French phrases in its Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup Wednesday against Superior.

It appeared to be "de ja vu" in the first 20 minutes of action as the Pointers let the Yellowjackets come back from 12 points down to snag a 30-29 halftime lead. It was strikingly similar to their performance Saturday when Oshkosh scored 60 second-half points in UW-SP's 85-76 loss.

But in the second half, the phrase of choice was "Lassier le bon tom roulette", which is loosely translated into "let the good times roll". UW-SP pushed Superior's offense beyond the 3-point arc and rolled its way toward a 65-56 victory against the Yellowjackets.

"There was just a lot of ebb and flow in this ballgame," Pointer coach Jack Bennett said. "It wasn't artistic ebb and flow, but just pure toughness."

The win improves the Pointers record to 5-3 in the WIAC and 13-3 overall.

UW-SP possessed a 26-14 lead with seven minutes left before halftime. However, Superior (4-4 WIAC, 11-4 overall) would devour the Pointers' advantage.

Brandon Vesel drained a 3-pointer to bring the Yellowjackets to 26-17. Cody Kastern added an off-balance layup to trim the Superior deficit to 26-19.

Vince Thomas added an easy lay in and the Pointers quickly found themselves clinging to a 26-21 lead with just more than four minutes to play in the first half.

Kalonji Kadima sparked the Pointer faithful with a 3-pointer in the corner and the UW-SP lead was increased to 29-21.

Superior scored the final nine points of the half. Alin Andre hit an easy layup to put the Yellowjackets on top 30-29 at halftime.

A major cause for concern for the Pointers in the first half was their lack of an attack on the boards. They were outrebounded 19-9 with Zuiker representing more than half of the total team rebounds with five.

"We really did a lot better of a job in the second half with the rebounds," Bennett said. "We were getting our butts kicks in the first half and we talked about that in the locker room."

The Pointers were able to wrangle the lead back early in the second half in part to five quick points from Josh Iserloth. He finished as the game's leading scorer with 23 points.

"I thought Josh played a great second half," Bennett said. "When Josh scores like he did tonight and lets the game come to him, we are at our best."

Vesel put a brief halt to the Pointers scoring with a a five-point run of his own to bring Superior to within one at 38-37.

UW-SP was not about to have its lead slip away a second time in the game. Neal Krajnik scored two key baskets midway through the second half to help push the Pointers toward the win.

The Pointers are back in action Saturday when they travel to UW-Stout. They will follow with three straight games at home.

Bennett knows how important the home stretch will be.

"If we get that win at Stout, the rest of the season is set up really nicely for us," he said.

Game time against the Blue Devils is 7 p.m. at the Johnson Fieldhouse in Menomonie.