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Pointer Men Roll
Past UW-Eau Claire
By Jerry Rhoden
Central Wisconsin Sunday
Original
Article
Box Score
STEVENS POINT - It may have taken the Pointer men a few
minutes to get reacquainted with home-court advantage.
But adjust they did, and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point overcame
a stuttering start to post a 70-58 win over UW-Eau Claire in a Wisconsin
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest Saturday night before a
season-high 2,315 fans inside Quandt Fieldhouse.
"We were a little tentative," said UWSP head coach Jack Bennett,
who in his eighth season recently became the school's third-winningest coach
and whose Pointers are No. 2 in the nation in NCAA Division III. "This
was a huge crowd, I think there may have been some nerves."
The Pointers (3-0 WIAC), who have gone 11-0 for the
fifth time in their history, struggled to a 5-all tie with the Blugolds
(7-5, 2-2 WIAC) five minutes into the game. Then they switched to a zone
defense that forced a quick turnover, one of 11 in the first half for UWEC.
"We made mistakes," said UWEC's ninth-year coach, Terry Gibbons.
"It wasn't just one player. We didn't play a good floor game.
"We have a lot of young kids, and it takes time to get a read, a feel
for the game." And it may have been the veteran savvy on the other end
of the floor that proved to be the difference.
"Offensively we were not as good as we needed to be. We were too
jammed, too congested," said junior forward Jason Kalsow, the Pointers'
leading scorer for the season who put up a team-high 19 points on Saturday.
"Once we ran a wider motion, we were able to run more cuts."
While Kalsow struggled through a 3-of-8 first half, he
finished with a game-high five assists, once again using the court awareness
that made him an effective point guard at Huntley (Ill.) High School to dish
the ball when his own shot wasn't there.
"He struggled with the physical play," Bennett added. "And if
he doesn't let the game come to him and he forces things, he's going to
struggle.
"But we missed way, way, way too many good layups."
UWSP went 19-of-44 (43.2 percent) from the floor, including 5-of-12 (41.7)
from the 3-point line, but hit a sizzling 27-of-33 from the free-throw line.
While Point entered the game holding teams to about 35 percent from the
field, UWEC went 19-of-36 (52.8) from the floor, 5-of-8 at the 3-point line,
and 15-of-23 at the line. The Blugolds finished with nine assists to 18
turnovers, the 10th time this season a Pointer opponent has had more
turnovers than assists.
Junior UWEC guard Dan Archambault led all scorers with 23 points, going
7-of-10 from the floor, 3-of-4 on 3-pointers and 6-of-7 at the line. |
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