Wednesday, December 11, 2002

Pointers fend off Stout, 69-64

By Jerry Rhoden
Stevens Point Journal

STEVENS POINT - They picked up no style points in the process, but the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point men�s basketball team survived rough shooting in the second half to hold off UW-Stout 69-64 on Wednesday in Quandt Fieldhouse.

The Pointers (6-0, 2-0 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) started warmly enough, hitting 46.2 percent in the first half and peppering the Blue Devils (2-4, 1-2 WIAC) with 3-pointers from Neal Krajnik, Tamaris Relerford and Ron Nolting while throwing in a couple of dunks for good measure.

They run a great motion offense, and defensively they play hard,� third-year Stout coach Ed Andrist said, �They�re the team to beat in our conference.  They have a huge belief in themselves.� 

But that well of positive karma seemed to run dry shortly after the break.  Nolting and Nick Bennett, who shot a team-best 3-of-6 from the floor, each deposited a 3-pointer to pad their 34-26 halftime lead.  Thereafter, UW-SP hit just 28 percent from the floor and hit a nine-minute skid without making a field goal.

�Defensively, we did some good things with our pressure,� Andrist said.  We turned I up and wee able to keep it up a little longer.

�Changing (between) a man and a zone helped.�

The Pointers committed 16 turnovers (to the Devils� 13) on the night, something UW-SP coach Jack Bennett had hoped to keep to a minimum.

�This league is made up of these grind-it-out types of games,� he said with a virtual sigh of relief when it was over.  �It�s not always pretty� but you�ve got to win these types of games.�

�I�ve seen a lot of teams start losing these type of games and it just snowballs from there.

�But, I�ve also seen teams win these and build their confidence.�

Pointer after Pointer fanned the second-half flame, but the spark of a game-sealing rally never took.

Meanwhile, the Devils� Jeff Vanderberghe connected on a trio of 3-pointers and Adam Maslowski added another trey as they knotted the game at 48 with 8:20 to play.

That�s when the Pointers made a defensive statement.

After a timeout with at the 8:20 mark, Bennett switched to a 1-3-1 zone that kept Stout�s perimeter shooters from getting any clear looks, though Maslowski hit another bomb to bring Stout to within three with less than four minutes remaining.

At the other end, the Pointers went 16-of-21 at the line to steadily pull away.