By Don Friday of the Stevens Point Journal

This time there was no miracle finish or overtime period to rescue the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point men's basketball team.

UW-La Crosse, which came to Quandt Fieldhouse Wednesday night with just one conference win, turned back a desperate comeback by the Pointers in the final six minutes to capture a shocking 68-67 victory.

The last place Eagles, the latest in a series of visiting teams to shoot the lights out at Quandt, got a huge four-point play by Ryan Eklund with 10.9 seconds remaining to escape with the upset win.

 Eklund, under tight defensive pressure, launched what proved to be the game winner from the left angle and was fouled on the play. His free throw enabled the Eagles to take a 68-65 lead.

"That shot came off a set play but it was the last option, said La Crosse coach Charlie Gross. "It was a little unorthodox going for a three but they were at the free throw line when we called the timeout and we weren't sure what was going to happen."

Just before Eklund's heroics, UW-SP freshman guard Nate Vosters, whose hustling floor play helped spark the comeback, missed on the front end of the bonus with the Pointers ahead, 65-64.

The Pointers quickly came down the court but Russ Austin missed a hurried 3-point try from the top from the arc. Brant Bailey put in the rebound but just fourth-tenths of a second remained and La Crosse's pass to near half court was topped away as the horn sounded.

The loss was a damaging one for UW-SP, which had won three overtime games in its last four starts. The Pointers (6-4, 14-5_ fell out of second place in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with a tough road assignment at unbeaten UW-Platteville directly ahead on Saturday.

La Crosse, playing without key starter Brady Metcalf, a former Pacelli High standout who suffered a severe sprain to his right ankle in practice Tuesday, improved to 2-8 in the WIAC and 8-11 overall.

"I really feel bad that he (Eklund) made that last shot because we made one of the truly great comebacks in the last six minutes," said UW-SP coach Jack Bennett. "Give La Crosse credit. They came in and played a solid game, especially in the first half."

Bennett was perturbed with his team's performance early in the game. The Eagles, who hit 9 of their first 11 shots from all angles, twice opened 11-point leads and, after the Pointers closed to a 32-30, regained a six-point margin at the break. UW-SP went with out a field goal in the final five-plus minutes.

"We have some guys who are starting the game soft, especially on defense," Bennett said. "We've been living on the edge and stolen some games. We have to play with more passion and a sense of urgency early in the games."

UW-L twice lead by as much as 14 points in the second half and still maintained a 61-49 advantage with 6:18 left.

Trailing 64-54 with 4:08 left, UW-SP used an 11-0 run to suddenly take a one-point lead as Jay Bennett nailed his third consecutive trey with 2:05 remaining. The rally included two treys by Bennett, one by Austin and Vosters' driving layup.

"Jay was on fire and Vosters, Bailey, and Denniston were also just phenomenal during that stretch," said coach Bennett.

After UW-SP took the lead, both teams missed shots and the Eagles also had a turnover before Vosters was fouled with 23.8 seconds to play.

"That young man is going to make a lot of free throws in the same kind of situations the rest of his career," coach Bennett said.

Gross, whose team lost at home to UW-SP by 21 points earlier, said it's been a tough year for the Eagles.

"A game like this shows that on a given night anything can happen if you come out ready to play," he said. "We need to gain respect in the league and the only way to do it is to win games like this one."

"This was a mirror image of our game here last year, although we didn't have that significant a lead in that one. It's funny. Our nemesis all year has been getting beat over the top and tonight we beat somebody by going over the top."

La Crosse shot a blazing 56 percent on 23 of 41, including 14 of 21 in the first half. The Eagles, however, won the game at the free throw line by converting on 18 of 26 compared to 9 of 16 by the Pointers.

The Pointers hit on 25 of 53 percent from the field for 47 percent but the primary reason UW-SP almost pulled the game out was an 8 for 19 display from beyond the arc, including 5 of 10 in the second half.

Coach Bennett, who drew a technical foul in the second half, was not happy with the way the game was officiated.

"All I'll say is that the game was called about the same way as we played early," he said. "We are not playing the kind of defense I'd like to play. We just don't seem to be able to stop people when we have to."

The Eagles were led by Steve Tracy, a 6-4 junior who scored 12 of his game high 18 points in the first half. Tracy also led UW-L to a 30-26 rebounding edge by coming down with 11.

Denniston led UW-SP with 17 point and five assists. Adding 12 points each were Joe Zuiker and Bennett who was 4 of 5 from beyond the arc. Bailey chipped in nine while Austin dished out six assists and Dave Grzesk five.

"We're just not getting consistent enough play or scoring from a couple of positions," Bennett said. "This is a setback that really hurts."