By Don Friday of the Stevens Point Journal

It's tough enough to defeat just about any member of the WIAC these days, but to take on destiny as well?

In one of the more incredible games staged in the history of Quandt Fieldhouse, the UWSP men's basketball team outlasted UW-Stout 99-89 in double overtime, leaving 1124 fans drained at the finish.

If ever a team seemed to earn the tag of Destiny's Darlings, it was the Blue Devils who sank difficult 3 point shots with time running out in both regulation and the first overtime.

The Pointers, however, pulled together and outscored Stout 16-6 in the second five-minute extra period.

It was a critically important win for UW-SP, which improved to 4-2 in the WIAC and 12-3 overall. The Pointers face another major hurdle on Wednesday at UW-Oshkosh.

It was a heartbreaking defeat for the Blue Devils (2-4, 8-7), who hung around with hitting with radar-like accuracy (13 of 23) from 3-point range.

"It seemed at times like Stout was just destined to win, so I really believe that we overcame destiny as well tonight," said UWSP coach Jack Bennett. "It was one of the most exciting, crowd pleasing games from start to finish that I can recall being involved with."

It was the first double-overtime game for the Pointers since the 1978-79 season when they won at La Crosse, 76-74.

Although allowing an uncharacteristic 89 points (in 50 minutes), Bennett didn't feel his team played poorly on defense.

"We were in the gaps and tried to get to the shooter but they were hitting everything they threw up there from all angles, including a lot of shots from NBA range," he said. "Our defense in the second overtime was the difference. We forced them into some big turnovers early and took advantage on the other end.

"We had a questionable call on a 3 point shot at the end of the first overtime go against us, but we didn't dwell on it and the kids just made up their minds to do it the hard way."

It took just a minute of the second extra period for UWSP to land the knockout punch.

Dave Grzesk scored on a short jumper, Dan Denniston buried a 3 point bomb out top and Derek Westrum scored underneath to give the Pointers a 90-83 lead.

After Stout closed to 92-86, a free throw and rebound goal, both by Westrum, put the game out of reach with 1:22 remaining.

The Pointers appeared to have the game won twice earlier, only to see Stout's Andy Myers drain a 3 point basket from the right angle as the horn sounded in regulation and teammate Jeremy Preston repeat the heroics with a jumper from the left wing with 2.3 left in the first overtime, although it appeared that the shot was launched from inside the 3 point line.

There were many heroes for UWSP but perhaps none bigger than senior guard Dan Denniston and sophomore post man Brant Bailey.

After a quiet first half, Denniston scored 18 points in the second half and two overtimes. He finished with 21 points and six assists.

"Stout just couldn't miss, but we took their best shot and hung in there," Denniston said. "They really played well and that's a tribute to them. Deep down, everybody on the team knew how important this game was, especially since we were coming off a loss at Whitewater."

Bailey played 34 minutes when starting center Joe Zuiker ran into foul problems and responded with a magnificent performance.

Until Preston's trey, it appeared Bailey had won the game when he stole a Stout pass, drove three quarters the length of the court to score on a thunderous slam dunk, was fouled and completed the three point play which gave UWSP an 83-80 lead with 27 seconds left.

"Stout had been using high passes to get the ball in the front court, so I knew it was coming," said the 6-7 leaper. "I just stepped in front of the guy and took off. I knew I had to hurry because there was somebody right on my tail."

Bailey finished with 23 points and four rebounds while hitting 7 of 12 floor attempts and 9 of 11 free throws.

The Pointers overcame Preston's 28 spree with superb balance which included six players in double figures.

In addition to Bailey and Denniston, Westrum and Russ Austin added 14 points each, Grzesk 12 and Zuiker 10 (all in the second half).

Preston, a 6-5 junior and former Madison East prep standout who transferred to Stout from Edgewood College, nailed 10 of 20 shots, including 6 of 12 from beyond the arc.