By Don Friday of the Stevens Point Journal

It was far from a textbook performance, but the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point men's basketball team pulled away from stubborn Wisconsin Lutheran College in the final seven minutes Saturday night to earn championship honors in the Warriors' Tip-Off Tournament.

The Pointers compensated for ballhandling lapses with a scorching shooting display and balanced scoring to post a 78-66 victory.

The win boosted UWSP to 2-0 on the season while Lutheran dropped to 1-1.

The Pointers will make their home debut on Friday and Saturday in the annual Terry Porter Classic at Quandt Fieldhouse. A total of eight teams will participate in the combined men's and women's event.

"It was a scrambling-type game with a lot of rough edges," said UWSP coach Jack Bennett. "Wisconsin Lutheran plays a gambling style defense and we didn't execute well on our motion offense. So we tried to create more on the dribble."

Although the Warriors, one of the favorites to win the Lake Michigan Conference title this season, pressured the Pointers into an atypical 20 turnovers, they also paid a big price by repeatedly giving up easy baskets when the Pointers beat the double team pressure.

"I'm a little disappointed with our number of turnovers but give Wisconsin Lutheran credit. The played extremely hard," Bennett said.

"We got everything we could have hoped for in this tournament. It couldn't have been a better weekend, especially coming into a hostile environment."

UWSP, which had five players score in double figures, connected on 31 of 47 shots for a blistering 66 percent. The Pointers were 5 of 12 from 3-point range and won the rebound battle, 34-26.

Leading just 36-32 at halftime, the Pointers appeared to be pulling away, opening a 51-37 advantage with just four minutes elapsed in the second half.

The Warriors, however, stormed back behind the scoring of Tim Arndorfer, Matt Aleithe and Kon Knueppel. Consecutive 3-point baskets by Knueppel and Arndorfer closed the gap to 58-54 with 7:10 remaining.

UWSP then went on a 7-0 run. Brant Bailey converted a 3-point play, Dave Grzesk sank a jumper and Russ Austin made a free throw to open a 65-54 lead with 3:46 to go.

UWSP, which connected on 17 of 24 second half attempts, then expanded the margin to 71-56 on baskets by Austin, Grzesk and Joe Zuiker to put the game away. 

"We did a good job of adjusting at halftime and our press break was much more effective," Bennett said. "We took a little more time with our passes."

The Warriors couldn't match the Pointers when it came to shooting accuracy and scoring balance. Lutheran shot just 41 percent from the field (26 of 63), including 7 of 20 from behind the arc, and had just two players in double digits.

Austin, who struggled with his shot Friday, bounced back with a 20 point effort. He was supported by Derek Westrum with 15, Zuiker and Dan Denniston with 12 each and Grzesk with 10.

Westrum excelled with his overall game for the second straight night with game highs in rebounds (11) and assists (8). He finished the tourney with 26 points, 19 rebounds and 13 assists. Zuiker added six rebounds and Grzesk handed out six assists.

Denniston, a 6-0 senior lead guard from Pittsville, was named the tournament's most valuable player. In addition to his floor leadership, he had 27 points (10 of 18 from the field, including 7 of 13 treys), eight assists, and just five turnovers.

Zuiker, a freshman post player from Port Edwards, was also named to the all-tourney team after scoring 29 points on 14 of 19 shooting and coming down with 14 rebounds.

"When you have a guard like Denniston, you always have a chance to win," Bennett said. "Guard play sets the tone. In addition to bringing up and distributing the ball, Dan has had to step up with his shooting the first two games and he's delivered."