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Bennett's Big
Night Leads Pointers Past Loggers
Box Score
Nick Bennett scored a career-high 37 points as UW-Stevens Point raced
to a 20-point halftime lead and held off Puget Sound (Wash.) for a 100-79
victory on Friday in an NCAA Division III men�s basketball sectional
semifinal in Tacoma, Wash.
The Pointers will make their third Elite Eight
appearance in seven years and face in-state rival Lawrence University of
Appleton in the sectional final on Saturday at 9 p.m. central time.
UW-Stevens Point is now 26-5 overall, while Puget Sound ends its season at
24-3.
Puget Sound�s 79 points was the fewest the Loggers
have scored in a game all season, but also the most allowed by UW-Stevens
Point. The Loggers entered the game ranked third in Division III in offense
at 104.3 points per game and UW-Stevens Point was fifth nationally in
defense at 57.4 points per game. UW-Stevens Point took a 50-30 halftime
lead, holding the Loggers below 40 points at halftime for just the second
time all season.
Puget Sound opened up an early lead, but the
Pointers countered with an 11-1 run to take a 30-19 lead with 6:48 left in
the half. The lead was 32-24 when the Pointers scored eight straight points
and then UW-Stevens Point�s Jon Krull made a half-court shot at the first
half buzzer to push the lead to 20 points.
The Loggers rallied in the second half, hitting
seven three-pointers in the half as Curtis Medved scored 18 of his team-high
23 points after halftime. Puget Sound trimmed the lead to seven at 63-56
with 12:32 left. However, UW-Stevens Point used another big run, outscoring
Puget Sound 12-3 as Bennett hit two three-pointers and two free throws to
get the lead back to 16 points.
Bennett had 26 of his 37 points in the second half
and finished the game 13-for-17 from the field, while also dishing out six
assists for the night. Jason Kalsow added 19 points and Krull had 15 points
� all in the first half.
The Pointers shot 70 percent in the first half and
64.9 percent for the game. UW-Stevens Point has now shot 60.1 percent
combined in its three NCAA tournament games and 57.3 percent in six
postseason contests, which includes three conference tournament games.
UW-Stevens Point also had just 14 turnovers against the Loggers� full-court
pressure that forces 26 turnovers per game.
Lawrence defeated Sul Ross State 86-79 in
overtime, rallying from an 18-point second half deficit to reach its first
Elite Eight and renew the oldest rivalry in UW-Stevens Point history. The
Pointers and Vikings have played 33 times previously, including the first
two games in UW-Stevens Point history in 1897. The Pointers lead the
all-time series 22-11 and won the most recent meeting 83-70 on Nov. 30, 2000
in Appleton. |
