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Second Half Spurt
Lifts MidAmerica Past Pointers
Box Score
A decisive 10-point run to open the second half
lifted MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) over UW-Stevens Point 77-64 on Friday in
the semifinals of the Clarke College men�s basketball holiday tournament.
The game was tied 33-33 at halftime, but the
Pioneers scored the first 10 points of the second half and maintained their
cushion throughout the second half to earn the victory and a spot in
Saturday�s championship game against Robert Morris (Ill.). UW-Stevens Point
is now 7-3 overall and will play host Clarke for third place at 1:15 p.m. on
Saturday.
The defeat marked the first time the Pointers have
lost a regular season game on a neutral floor since Dec. 27, 1982 when they
suffered a 55-53 loss to Grand Valley State (Mich.) in Quincy, Ill. The
Pointers had won 23 straight such games before the setback to MidAmerica
Nazarene, an NAIA Division II school.
The loss wasted an outstanding individual
performance from junior Jon Krull, who scored a career-high 31 points and
was perfect on all 13 free throw attempts. Krull was the only UW-Stevens
Point player in double figures.
The Pointers trailed by as many as 10 points in
the first half, but battled back in the closing minutes of the half with a
13-3 run to tie the game at the intermission as Krull scored 10 of the
team�s points during the spurt. However, the Pioneers opened the second half
with a pair of three-pointers and the Pointers missed their first six shots
of the half.
UW-Stevens Point closed to within 47-43 with 10:14
left, but could get no closer. The Pointers trailed 55-48 with 6:32 left and
were held without a field goal for over four minutes as MidAmerica Nazarene
pulled away.
UW-Stevens Point was outrebounded for just the
second time this season as the Pioneers held a 39-25 advantage on the boards
with 16 offensive rebounds. The Pointers shot just 37.3 percent and had only
six offensive rebounds. UW-Stevens Point has been held below 38 percent
shooting in all three losses while shooting above 41 percent in all seven
victories this season. The Pointers were just four-for-18 from three-point
range, but shot 22-for-23 from the free throw line.
MidAmerica Nazarene had five players in double
figures as Adam Hepker led the team with 23 points and seven assists. Danny
Hawkins added 13 points and 10 rebounds. |
