Sat 18-Nov-2000

Depth and balance key Pointers to tip-off victory
By JESSE HORNE
Journal Staff

After its first game of the 2000-2001 season Friday, the UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team showed it can score - and win - with a variety of offensive schemes.

Saturday against Upper Iowa, the Pointers were ready to take whatever their opponent gave them.

After defeating Barat College with 22 inside points from Josh Iserloth, the Pointers broke out the long-range shooting assault as they defeated the Peacocks 87-61 in the championship game of the 17th annual Terry Porter Tip-Off Classic. The win marks the Pointers ninth Tip-Off Classic championship in 10 years.

"Even though we are two games into the season, we've shown that we are a unselfishly deep team," said head coach Jack Bennett.

UW-SP drained 11 out of 25 shots from behind the arc, with Kalonji Kadima nailing down three 3-pointers. He finished as the leading scorer with 17 points.

"We played an offense that was in reaction to what Upper Iowa threw at us," Bennett said. "They clogged up area inside the paint and forced us to take deep shots."

Once again, Iserloth cracked double figures for the Pointers with 14 points, as well as garnering tournament MVP honors.

"I may have gotten the MVP, but we all got the wins this weekend," Iserloth said. "This is a huge lift for us going into our next game."

"He is still learning the game, but Josh is really fine-tuning his game very nicely," Bennett said.

The Pointers did not waste time igniting the offense as they wet on a 14-3 run to open up the game. Brent Larson, along with Kadima, led UW-SP in the first half with four of the team's seven three-point shots. Larson finished with 11 points.

After a 41-24 lead at halftime, Bennett's bench maintained the momentum in the second half, led by Derek Kind with eight second-half points.

"Not only did the reserves hold their own, but they even lengthened the lead for us," Bennett said.