By Don Friday of the Stevens Point Journal

It came down to the wire Wednesday night, but this time the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point men’s basketball team came up short.

The Pointers, who overcame a 12-point first half deficit to lead by as much as seven points midway through the second half, dropped a 72-69 decision to UW-Oshkosh four days after winning a double overtime thriller from UW-Stout.

The setback was a costly one for the visitors, at least in the short term. It dropped the Pointers to 4-3 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, three games behind unbeaten Platteville and from second to fourth. Overall, UWSP is 12-4 with a week off before hosting Eau Claire on Wednesday.

The victory, their 32^nd in the last 34 outings at Kolf Sports Center, improved the Titans to 4-2 in the WIAC and 12-2 overall.

"I’ve had a philosophy for many years about giving your best and living with the result," said UWSP coach Jack Bennett. "I have no regrets because we gave it our best against a good team which played very well on its home court. We had a chance to win the game right down to the end."

After freshman Joe Zuiker hit a jump shot to create the final tie, 67-67, with 2:40 left, the Titans’ Joe Imhoff drained his seventh 3-pointer of the game with 1:42 remaining.

Dave Grzesk’s jumper closed the gap to 70-69 with 13 seconds left, but Aric Vaubel hit two free throws to put Oshkosh ahead, 72-69.

Grzesk was fouled with five seconds to play but missed his first free throw. He intentionally missed the second and the Pointers rebounded, getting the ball to Russ Austin, whose desperation 3-point try from the corner bounced off the rim as time expired.

The Titans controlled play early and opened a 36-24 lead with 2:44 left before Grzesk and Derek Westrum led a surge which reduced the Pointers’ deficit at the break to 39-33.

With Dan Denniston leading the way, UWSP outscored Oshkosh, 21-8, to take a 54-47 lead with 10:38 remaining.

Oshkosh’s winning margin came in two areas – 3-point shooting and accuracy from the free throw line. The Titans buried 10 of 19 from beyond the arc to the Pointers’ 3 of 7 and converted on 18 of 23 free throws to UWSP’s 16 of 26.

Both teams shot extremely well from the floor, the Pointers finishing at .532 and the Titans at .524.

Imhoff, a former Marshfield Senior High standout who set a school record with 10 treys against La Crosse four nights earlier, scored 21 points on 7 of 12 from 3-point land.

Vaubel, a 6-6 freshman, added 14 points, 6-5 sophomore Brad Clark 13 and 6-9 Keith Meyer and lead guard Brett Davis nine each for the Titans who also had a 25-24 rebounding edge. Davis supported Imhoff with three treys.

"This league has better 3-point shooters than many Division I teams I’ve seen," Bennett said. "They may have better athletes, but this level has the shooters."

Westrum pulled down 10 rebounds and scored 15 points, all in the first half. Denniston also scored 15 points and handed out four assists while Grzesk added 13 points and Zuiker eight.

"This was a hard loss but not damaging if we use it in the right way," Bennett said. "This thing is not over yet. Now, we’ll just have to earn it the hard way."