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Another Big Second
Half Carries Pointers Past Stout
Box Score
There�s just something about the second half that
seems to bring out the best in the UW-Stevens Point men�s basketball team.
After struggling through a poor shooting first
half, the Pointers used another big second half performance to pull away for
a 75-52 victory over UW-Stout on Saturday and take over sole possession of
first place in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
The win also was a milestone for head coach Jack
Bennett, who became the school�s all-time winningest coach with a 179-53
record in his ninth season, surpassing the record of Hale Quandt, who
coached for 15 seasons from 1947-62.
Both teams were ice cold in the first half as
UW-Stevens Point shot just 22.7 percent, but held UW-Stout to 25.8 percent
shooting to take a 25-23 halftime lead. As has been typical already this
season, the Pointers came out on fire in the second half, hitting 11 of
their first 13 shots and their first seven three-pointers to roll to the
victory. UW-Stevens Point was 14-for-18 (77.8 percent) and scored 50 points
after halftime. Over the last seven games, the Pointers have shot 61.8
percent in the second half and 38.6 percent in the first half.
Senior Kyle Grusczynski was
a major factor in the second half spurt, scoring all 14 of his points after
halftime and hitting back-to-back three-pointers to give the Pointers a
49-34 lead with 10 minutes remaining. Grusczynski was four-for-five from
three-point range and made his first start of the season.
UW-Stevens Point used a 9-0
run to build a 41-27 lead with 11:48 left, but the Blue Devils pulled to
within nine points before Grusczynski�s big shots. UW-Stout again came
within nine points at 55-46 with 7:25 left, but Grusczynski hit another
three-pointer to spark an 8-0 run and put the Pointers up 63-46.
Nick Bennett added 22
points and Jon Krull had 13 points for the Pointers. The team�s leading
scorer, Jason Kalsow, was held without a field goal until 4:30 remained in
the game, but he still finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Luke Loney
led UW-Stout with 12 points and was three-for-four from three-point range
while the rest of the team was a combined two-for-24. |
