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Pointers Outlast
Warhawks to Win WIAC Tourney
Box Score
UW-Stevens Point entered Saturday�s Wisconsin
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men�s basketball tournament title game
as the nation�s top defensive team, but instead fans were treated to a
shootout by the conference�s top two offensive squads.
In the end, the Pointers outlasted UW-Whitewater
87-77 in front of 2,550 in a raucus Quandt Fieldhouse to capture their
second straight conference tournament title and a league-high third crown in
the seven-year history of the event. UW-Stevens Point, which also won the
tournament in 2000, clinched its third straight NCAA Division III tournament
berth and fifth in nine seasons. The Pointers are now 24-3 overall and will
learn of their first round opponent when pairings are announced on Sunday at
9:30 p.m.
The first half was played at a breakneck pace with
the Warhawks scoring on 10 of their first 12 possessions and stunning the
Pointers with 21 points in the first 6:40 of the game. However, UW-Stevens
Point kept pace and trailed just 21-16 at that point.
The Pointers used a 7-0 run later in the half to
take a 44-39 lead with 3:04 remaining and eventually hold a 47-43 halftime
lead. UW-Whitewater played much of the half without its two leading scorers,
Angelo Griffin and Jeremy Manchester, who were both saddled with two fouls
and had two points at the intermission.
�I felt more than a little fortunate,� Warhawks�
coach Pat Miller said of the five-point deficit. �I thought our other guys
stepped up to keep us in there.�
�We were getting looks the whole game and offense
wasn�t really our concern,� said Pointers� senior Jason Kalsow, who led all
scorers with 28 points while grabbing 10 rebounds. �When we got back on
defense that�s when we were able to stop them.�
UW-Stevens Point held its lead early in the second
half and was up 54-49 four minutes into the period when the Warhawks scored
seven straight points, capped by a dunk from Mike Toellner for a 56-54 lead
with 14:11 left. It was at that point when Pointers� coach Jack Bennett knew the
game was in the balance.
�When they started pushing the ball down our
throats, I called that time out and told them that it was do or die,�
Bennett said. �That was a turning point of the game and I thought from that
point on we played pretty good defense.�
In fact, following the timeout, the Pointers went
on a 10-1 run, tying the game on a short hook shot by Eric Maus and taking
the lead on a three-pointer from Tamaris Relerford. UW-Whitewater cut the
lead to 67-61 with 10 minutes left, but Kalsow scored an inside basket to
spark a 6-1 run and the Warhawks came no closer than eight points the rest
of the way.
After shooting 45.7 percent in the first half,
UW-Whitewater shot 35.7 and was just one-for-eight from three-point range
after halftime.
�We got swept up in playing Whitewater�s speed,�
said Bennett, whose team shot 53.8 percent for the game. �We can play that
way, but we�re much better in a controlled, quick game.�
It was the second straight hard-fought game for
the Pointers, who also held off UW-Oshkosh just two days ago.
�The WIAC tournament is grueling,� Bennett said.
�I think this week is physically and mentally tougher than the NCAA. If you
survive it, you have a chance to make some great noise in the NCAA.�
Nick Bennett added 16 points for the Pointers, but
was just zero-for-two from the field in the second half, scoring all five
points in the frame from the free throw line. Relerford added 12 points and
Jon Krull had 11. Craig Anderson scored a season-high 25 points for the
Warhawks and was 10-for-16 from the free throw line. Griffin had eight
points and Manchester fouled out without scoring in the second half and
finishing with two points. |
