Sun, Jan 13, 2002

Oshkosh cools off Pointer men

By Jesse Horne
Central Wisconsin Sunday

STEVENS POINT - One game after making a school-record 17 3-pointers, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point men's basketball team was ice cold from beyond the arc against Oshkosh on Saturday.
The Pointers missed their first 10 attempts from long range and finished with just two 3-pointers as they fell to the Titans 63-54 at Quandt Fieldhouse in Stevens Point.

"It is very ironic that it comes one game after we dropped everything we saw," said UW-SP head coach Jack Bennett. "We had to keep taking the shots. When we've got the looks, we've got to take them.

"I can't get on the guys too much except to just take good shots and trust your stroke," he said.

The two 3-pointers for Stevens Point were made by Josh Iserloth and Ron Nolting. Entering Saturday's game, the duo had accounted for 58 of the team's 131 baskets form behind the arc.

The plan to take away Iserloth's and Nolting's looks from long range worked nearly to perfection, according to Oshkosh head coach Ted Van Dellen.

"The one thing that we wanted to do was to hold Iserloth and Nolting in check," he said. "They were just unbelievable in how they were doing from 3-point range. We just tried to make them put it on the floor."
Iserloth finished the game with 15 points - tied with Jason Kalsow for the team lead. Nolting's 3-pointer accounted for his only points in the game.

Tim Dworak bolstered his WIAC-leading scoring average by finishing with a double-double of 28 points and 13 rebounds - both statistics good for game-highs.

"Tim has just been a real warrior for us," Van Dellen said. "He has, without a doubt surpassed my expectations. I didn't think he could have this good of a year. We are going to continue to go to him until he proves to me that he can't do it."

The Pointers trailed Oshkosh 15-14 with 10 minutes remaining in the first half when the Titans went on a 12-0 run over the next 6:37 of the half.

UW-SP bounced back and cut the deficit to 49-47 with 6:16 to play. But the Titans mustered up one more rally to secure the lead. It was at this point in the second half when the momentum swung away from the Pointers, Bennett said.

"When we got it back to two, we missed a wide-open 3, a wide-open 2 and then Dworak made a lay-up," he said. "I thought that if we dropped a shot then, all of the momentum that we had been building would really come in our direction."

For the Titans, Saturday's victory against Stevens Point was just what they hoped for, Van Dellen said.
"They way I looked at it, our backs were to the wall coming into to the night," he said. "We needed this win. If we didn't get it, we would have been on the outside looking in."

Both teams are back in action Wednesday. Oshkosh will host Eau Claire while Stevens Point is at Superior.