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March
11, 2005 - NCAA Sectional Semifinal
Hicklin Helps Pointers
Defeat Puget Sound for Second Straight Year
Steve Hicklin probably didn�t sleep much
during the week of his first career start, but any sleep he did get probably
didn�t include dreams that his performance would turn out so well.
The freshman point guard scored 15 points
and was nine-for-nine at the free throw line while navigating through hounding
Puget Sound pressure the entire night as UW-Stevens Point beat the Loggers in
the NCAA Division III sectional semifinals for the second straight year with an
81-63 victory on Friday in Stevens Point.
UW-Stevens Point is now 26-3 overall and
will host Trinity (Texas) in the sectional finals on Saturday at 7 p.m. with a
berth in the national semifinals in Salem, Va. at stake.
Hicklin, who was a third-string guard
much of the season but was forced into duty after each of the top two guards
suffered broken hands, had scored a total of 45 points all season and played
just 154 total minutes before seeing 37 minutes on Friday.
�I actually tried not to think about it
too much,� Hicklin said of the start in place of Tamaris Relerford, who broke
his hand in the second round win over Lawrence.. �It was hard, though, with
everyone coming up to me all week asking, �are you nervous?� I just wanted to
concentrate on not turning the ball over and I was more excited than nervous.�
Hicklin had just two turnovers for the
game with both coming in the final 13:14. UW-Stevens Point also handled the
Loggers� pressure with 14 turnovers for the game against a defense that forces
23.3 per game.
�Tamaris really did a good job of
remembering what he did against them last year and communicating that to me,�
Hicklin said. �I wasn�t out there by myself tonight.�
The Pointers opened up with a quick start
as Hicklin and Eric Maus combined to score the first 10 points for an early 10-5
lead. The Pointers gradually built on the lead before a 15-2 run gave UW-Stevens
Point a 39-19 lead with 43 seconds left in the half. Puget Sound, which ranked
sixth in the country in offense at 94.5 points per game, scored the final four
points of the half against the Pointers� second-ranked defense to pull within
39-23 at halftime.
UW-Stevens Point maintained its lead
early in the second half before a 10-2 Puget Sound run pulled the Loggers within
eight points at 51-43 with 12:54 left. The Pointers scored their next nine
points from the line and eventually pushed the lead back to 17 points and 64-47
with 8:56 remaining.
The Pointers made 20 of 21 free throws in
the second half and Hicklin was nine-for-nine for the game. Nick Bennett
finished with 22 points while Maus matched a career-high with 18 points on
seven-for-seven field goal shooting and four-for-four free throw accuracy. Jason
Kalsow added another all-around performance of 16 points, seven rebounds and
seven assists.
�As usual, this was another hard-fought,
physical battle,� said UW-Stevens Point coach Jack Bennett, whose team beat the
Loggers 100-79 last year. �They just come at you in waves. This was a good win.�
UW-Stevens Point used a zone defense
throughout nearly the entire game to hold Puget Sound to 39.3 percent shooting
for the game and its lowest point total of the season.
�I think the length of Stevens Point was
a key,� Puget Sound coach Eric Bridgeland said. �We�re not used to that. We got
a little tentative and we�re also young in the guard spots.�
The Loggers were led by Zack McVey with
19 points and Chase Curtiss with 17 points.
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