Sun 6- Jan-2001

Pointers work overtime to topple Platteville
By Jesse Horne
Central Wisconsin Sunday

STEVENS POINT -- The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point men's basketball team was tested with an overtime game for the second time this season in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference clash on Saturday.

The 14th-ranked Pointers once again passed the exam as they rallied from a 13-point first-half deficit to defeat Platteville 78-71 in OT. UW-SP improves to 3-2 in the WIAC and 12-2 overall.

"We found a way to win tonight against a very good Platteville team," said Pointers head coach Jack Bennett. "Tonight was irregular and difficult on us, but we hung in there."

Forced out of the paint by a tenacious Platteville defense, center Josh Iserloth found success with his jumpers and finished with a game-high 22 points, including nailing 3-of-5 from 3-point range.

Freshman Jason Kalsow notched his third double-double of the season for UW-SP with 12 points and 10 rebounds, but injured his ankle late in the game.

"He played well despite getting into foul trouble," Bennett said. "I might have asked a bit too much of him to guard (Platteville's Tyler) Selk at the start. But he is relentless and we definitely need him out on the floor."

The first half for UW-SP started out sluggish as it hit just 4- of-13 attempts from the free throw line, compared to 6-of-10 for the Pioneers (2-4 WIAC, 8-6).

After grabbing a 6-5 lead less than four minutes into the game, the Pointers' offense iced up as Platteville stormed out to a 29-15 lead with 5:52 left in the first half. But UW-SP began to heat up and cut the Pioneer advantage to 34-26 at halftime.

"I thought that the first 10 minutes of the game were as poorly as we've played in the last couple of years. We were a step slow and out of sync. At halftime, we're just eight down and I told the guys that we were basically given a reprieve and must take advantage of it."

In overtime, Platteville grabbed the lead back one final time on a free throw by Ben Schambow with 2:59 remaining. However, Tamaris Relerford drained a 3-pointer just 14 seconds later to give the UW-SP the lead for good.

Selk lead four Platteville players in double figures with 21 points.

The Pointers travel to River Falls on Wednesday.