Thu, Feb 7, 2002

UW-SP men hold off Eau Claire

BY CASEY KRAUTKRAMER
For the Journal

The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point men's basketball team held off Eau Claire for a key conference victory on Wednesday night.

The Blugolds (11-11, 3-10) chipped away at the Pointers (17-5, 8-5 WIAC) the entire game, but UW-SP stood its ground for a crucial 85-79 win to remain in the race for a WIAC title.

"I thought we persevered tonight. I thought we outlasted them," said Pointer head coach Jack Bennett.

"It was a real test, because they (Eau Claire) didn't yield very easily. When they tied that game up (77-77), it was anybody's ballgame. I thought we had enough fearlessness and perseverance at the end to pull it out.
We were resourceful tonight. We figured out ways to score and had just enough stops defensively to pull it out."

The Pointers enjoyed a 10-point halftime lead, but Eau Claire battled back early in the second half by scoring six straight points. The run was fueled by a technical foul on the Pointers freshman Jason Kalsow.

"Fortunately for us, our players picked up Jason," Bennett said. "We were not happy with his technical. Number one, we're never happy with a technical, especially if it's a player. Number two, it was his fourth foul."

"That took him out of the most important part of the game, but I thought his teammates picked him up and I know he's grateful. It was a momentum changer. If that's his only mental mistake of the year, we'll live with that, because he's made some great plays for us throughout the course of the year."

The Blugolds never let up, thanks to timely 3-pointers by Steve Syrjala and the inside play of Andy Witte. However, UW-SP hit 8-of-8 free throws during the last minute of the game to seal the victory.

The Pointers also won the first meeting between the two teams this year, 72-62, on Jan. 2 in Eau Claire.

"We beat a pretty good basketball team in Eau Claire tonight," Bennett said. "This is the first time in almost a decade that we've swept them. Eau Claire's got a lot of tradition. It's one of the most tradition-filled basketball schools, and for us to be able to sweep them, we're pretty happy with that. Plus, it keeps us in the race. It allows us to fight another day."

Josh Iserloth lead the Pointer attack with 28 points, while Kalonji Kadima scored 25.

Jason Larson paced the Blugolds with 20 points and Syrjala added 19.

The Pointers travel to UW-Oshkosh (9-4 WIAC) on Saturday for a tilt with the Titans, who are tied with UW-La Crosse for first place in the league. The Pointers are just one game off the conference lead.

STEVENS POINT (85) - Iserloth 9-19 9-9 28. Kalsow 5-9 4-7 14. Krajnick 4-6 0-0 8. Nolting 0-1 1-2 1. Kadima 6-9 12-12 25. Relerford 1-1 0-0 3. Bennett 1-2 0-0 3. Mallett 0-0 0-1 0. DeVos 1-1 1-2 3. Maus 0-0 0-1 0. Totals: 27-48 27-34 85.

EAU CLAIRE (79) - Syrjala 7-15 0-0 19. Jefferson 0-0 0-0. Witte 6-16 3-7 15. Larson 8-18 3-3 20. Archambault 3-7 9-9 17. Drake 0-0 0-0 0. Wade 0-0 0-0 0. Wietor 1-1 0-0 2. Flynn 0-1 0-0 0. Newton 1-1 0-1 2. Beck 1-2 2-2 4. Totals: 27-61 17-22 79.

Stevens Point 45 40 - 85
Eau Claire 35 44 - 79
3-Point Goals: UW-SP 4-13 (Iserloth 1-6, Kalsow 0-1, Krajnik 0-1, Kadima 1-3, Relerford 1-1, Bennett 1-1). UW-EC 8-25 (Syrjala 5-11, Witte 0-1, Larson 1-7, Archambault 2-5, Flynn 0-1). Personal Fouls: UW-SP 16, UW-EC 25. Technical Foul: Kalsow. Fouled out: none