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Rortvedt's
Sharpshooting Leads to Postseason Win
Box Score
After winning 17 straight postseason games the
past two years, the new crop of UW-Stevens Point men�s basketball players
made itself a warm welcome to playoff basketball on Tuesday night.
Pete Rortvedt highlighted a huge night for the
Pointers� freshman class, setting a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic
Conference tournament and UW-Stevens Point school record with nine three
pointers while finishing with 30 points as the Pointers upended
UW-Platteville 70-65 in their playoff opener at the Quandt Fieldhouse.
Rortvedt�s performance came on a night that saw
the Pointers� freshman class make a remarkable impact, scoring 48 of the
team�s 70 points as the team played several minutes with five freshmen on
the floor. While Rortvedt handled the perimeter attack, freshman Jerome
Wotachek controlled the inside, totaling five points, 10 rebounds and four
steals in his first career start. The group was pushed into duty with senior
Brian Bauer sidelined by a foot injury and junior Jon Krull and sophomore
Steve Hicklin in early foul trouble.
The quarterfinal round victory matched the
tournament record for consecutive wins as the two-time defending champion
Pointers won their seventh straight in the event, matching UW-Oshkosh�s
streak from 2002-04. The two-time defending NCAA Division III champions also
ran their overall postseason win streak to 18 straight victories after
avenging a pair of tight regular season losses to UW-Platteville, which
finished 12-13 overall.
UW-Stevens Point is now 17-9 overall and makes its
fifth straight semifinal appearance on Thursday at UW-Stout. The Blue Devils
are making their first trip to the semifinals since 2001 and will meet the
Pointers for the first time in the WIAC tournament.
Rortvedt was on fire from beginning till end,
hitting an early three-pointer for a 5-0 lead and providing over half of the
team�s first half offense with 12 points on four-for-four three-point
shooting as the Pointers took a 23-21 halftime lead. The rest of the
Pointers� team was a combined five-for-22 from the field and zero-for-six
from three-point range in the first half.
UW-Stevens Point scored the
first seven points of the second half with Krull and Rortvedt each hitting three-pointers
during the run. However, every time it appeared the Pointers were ready to
put the Pioneers away, UW-Platteville managed to stay in the game.
The Pioneers cut the lead to 39-37 with 8:34 left,
but the Pointers scored the next 13 points with Wotachek starting the run
with an offensive rebound basket and Rortvedt hitting three three-pointers
as UW-Stevens Point went ahead 52-37 with 6:16 to play. However, again
UW-Platteville hung around, taking advantage of the Pointers� first four
turnovers of the second half and a pair of missed layups on their next six
possessions to cut the lead to 52-46 with 3:35 left.
But Rortvedt came to the Pointers� rescue once
again, draining another long range shot for a nine-point lead. Two Rortvedt
free throws on the next possession finished his scoring with 30 points as he
set a career high for the second straight game after totaling 18 on Saturday
against UW-Superior.
The nation�s leading free throw shooting team at
79.9 percent entering the game, UW-Stevens Point missed four in the final
minute to let the Pioneers climb back within four points. However, Krull
made a pair with 11 seconds left to seal the win as the junior was
seven-for-seven at the line and scored all of his 14 points in the second
half.
Rortvedt�s shooting performance eclipsed the
previous tournament record of seven three-pointers by Nick Scherer of
UW-Oshkosh in 2001. The former school record was eight by Josh Iserloth in
2002. The Pointers shot just 37.0 percent from the field for the game and
minus Rortvedt�s heroics, 26.8 percent from the field and one-for-10 from
three-point range.
LeVon Crawford led UW-Platteville, scoring 19 of
his 21 points in the second half. Jeff Skemp added 16 points and Sean Krause
totaled 15 points. The Pioneers were hampered by 19 turnovers and committed
29 fouls. |
