By Don Friday of the Stevens Point Journal

Playing the University of Wisconsin-River Falls men's basketball team can be compared with a visit to the dentist's office.

The Falcons, under longtime coach Rick Bowen, can always be counted on to execute their passing game shuffle offense to perfection and harass the opposition with sticky man-to-man defense.

So it was like pulling teeth for UW-Stevens Point on Saturday night but the Pointers came through when it counted most, in the final 10 minutes of a 66-59 victory over River Falls before 1,373 fans at Quandt Fieldhouse.

It was the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener for both teams and left UW-SP 6-0 overall and UW-RF 4-2.

The Pointers face two more major home challenges this week, taking on Edgewood College of Madison, a team which beat UW-SP a year ago, on Wednesday and three-time defending WIAC champion UW-Platteville on Saturday.

Just like River Falls, the Pointers also thrive on offensive execution and in-your-face defensive pressure. Not surprisingly, it was dominance in those two areas which enable UW-SP to pull the game out after trailing by as many as 12 points in the opening half.

"I think we beat River Falls at their best," said UW-SP coach Jack Bennett. "It's true they lost (center Matt) Chitwood, but they seem to be playing better defense because they are quicker and more athletic. They can play, but we can to."

Bennett felt one of the keys to the eventful outcome was the fact that his team was able to whittle a 31-19 deficit down to 33-32 with a 13-2 run in the final five minutes of the half.

"We really picked up our defensive intensity and that seemed to get us going on offense as well," he said. "That and the fact that we again had great contributions off the bench from guys like (Jay) Bennett, (Brant) Bailey, and (Kurt) Hoerman.

"Jay hit some huge shots for us. Bailey provided an interior presence and Kurt gave us a spark with his hustling defense."

The Falcons still lead, 43-39, with UW-SP in front for the first time since the early going, 47-43. A layup by Derek Westrum with 7:42 left gave the Pointers the lead for good.

Freshman Joe Zuiker, held to just one basket in the first half, then came alive and veteran guard Russ Austin drained a pair of NBA-type 3-point jumpers as UW-SP opened a 56-49 advantage with 3:14 to play.

Senior guard Dan Denniston then added six points down the stretch to dash any Falcons' hopes of a closing rally.

"We can't play any harder but we could have played smarter," Bowen said. "What really beat us was those out-of-bounds plays. I think they scored on four of them in the second half. We just lost vision on the ball and had some breakdowns."

Despite 18 turnovers, the Pointers survived by shooting the ball well and controlling the boards by a 36-22 margin.

Another big factor for UW-SP was scoring balance. Seven players contributed between eight and 12 points.

Dave Grzesk, assigned major defensive duty on Meschke, also found time to score 12 points, hand our five assists, and pull down four rebounds.

Zuiker used his strong finish to wind up with 11 points and nine rebounds. Bennett chipped in 10 points, including a pair of treys, Austin 9 and Westrum, Denniston, and Bailey 8 a piece. Westrum also matched Zuiker's nine boards.

"I just try to provide a little spark when I come off the bench and so do the other guys," said Jay Bennett. "And it doesn't have to be on offense, although I'm really feeling good with my shot right now."

Meschke, a 6-0 senior who missed his first seven shots in the second half, was the only Falcon in double figures with 17 points.