The blueprint for success was drawn up by the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point men's basketball coach Jack Bennett and his staff.

It remained, however, for the Pointers to follow those guidelines in their Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament opener against UW-Whitewater on Monday night.

The blueprint included taking care of the basketball against the quicker, pressuring Warhawks, playing strong defense, being aggressive on the boards and continuing to shoot well.

Because they followed that game plan to perfection, the Pointers posted a 77-67 victory before less than capacity turnout at Williams Fieldhouse to remain alive in the inaugural WIAC event.

By winning at Whitewater for the first time since the 1991-92 season, the 15-10 Pointers earned the right to take on WIAC champion and No. 1 seed UW-Platteville at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in a semifinal clash on the Pioneers' court. Platteville advanced with a 76-65 win over UW-La Crosse last night.

In other playoff openers, No. 6 seed UW-Stout shocked No. 2 seed UW-Eau Claire, 70-60, on the Blugolds' court and No. 3 seed UW-Oshkosh, trailing 43-33 with 11:44 remaining, rallied to get past No. 7 seed UW-Superior at home, 55-51. The Titans will host Stout in the other semifinal on Wednesday night.

The setback ended a 17-8 season for coach Dave Vander Meulen's Warhawks who lost two of three meetings to UWSP this season.

"We talked about it a lot that it was time for us to win here where it's been a bear of a place for Pointer teams to win over quite a few years," Bennett said. "We just made up our minds that nothing was going to bother us, not their press or their quickness. I'm truly pleased for the kids because they stayed tough from start to finish."

The Pointers' earlier win over UW-W came with Hawks' senior standout Tom Anderson out with a knee injury. This time, however, Anderson played and standout senior guards Jaron Perry and Graham Diemer provided an additional boost by emerging from recent shooting slumps.

Not even those "plus" factors could stand in the way of the Pointers who turned in a gilt-edged performance that was a least the equal of a late season win at Oshkosh.

But back to the blueprint.

Most important, UWSP turned the ball over just 11 times, a far cry from the 28 committed in an early season three-point loss.

When it came to playing defense, the Pointers limited the Hawks to 43.8 percent from the field (28 of 64), including 7 of 22 from 3-point range. Perry and Diemer combined to nail 14 of 28 shots, including 7 of 14 from beyond the arc, but the two-man show wasn't enough to overcome the Pointers' overall balance and soundness on both ends of the court.

When it came to shooting, the Pointers excelled, connecting on 24 of 45 attempts (3 of 9 from long range) for an impressive 53.3 percent. Rather than live (or possible die) by the 3-point shot, UWSP repeatedly attacked inside to the likes of junior Brant Bailey, redshirt freshman Kalonji Kadima, sophomore Joe Zuiker and senior Derek Westrum – with spectacular results.

It was at the free throw line, however, where the Pointers enjoyed their biggest advantage. UWSP sank its first 16 charity attempts and wound up making 26 of 30 for a scorching 86.7 percent. Whitewater, conversely, continued a season long deficiency at the line, converting just 4 of 10.

When it came to rebounding, UWSP also more than held its own, posting a 31-27 advantage on the glass, led by Westrum who came down with eight and Kadima who grabbed seven.

"We put a lot of emphasis on getting quality possessions and good looks at the basket," Bennett said. "And we had to make sure we did not let turnovers come in bunches. We also made them work for their shots."

After a 32-32 standoff at the break, the Pointers made a major move at about the six minute mark of the second half.

Trailing 42-41, UWSP took the lead for good when Kadima sank a short jumper and completed the 3-point play by making the free throw with 14:39 remaining.

The Pointers capitalized on the Hawks’ excessive fouling, getting into the double bonus situation with almost 12 minutes left in the second half.

Two free throws by Kadima gave UWSP its biggest lead at 13 points (63-50) with 5:42 remaining. The Hawks, with Diemer hitting a pair of 3-pointers and Perry one, got within 67-60 with 3:14 remaining, but Bailey got loose inside for two key baskets and Kadima for one. Free throws also helped boost the Pointer lead to 75-63 with just 45 seconds left.

Kadima, who turned in his best overall performance of the season, scored 21 points, 13 in the second half. He was 5 of 10 from the floor and made all 11 of his free throw attempts.

"Kalonji exorcised some demons tonight," Bennett said. "The first time we played here early in the season was a nightmare for him. Kalonji was on a mission to show Whitewater that he was a tougher player than that. HE erased a bad memory.

Bailey poured in 12 of his 20 points in the second half. He was 8 of 14 from the floor, made all four of his free throws and helped on the boards with four rebounds.

"Brant did a nice defensive job on Anderson and that was a big key," Bennett said.

Westrum also stepped up offensively, scoring 13 points and handing out four assists to go with his usual sterling performance on the boards and defensively.

"That’s just the way Derek is," Bennett said. "We’re really going to miss him some day but he wants to keep this thing going. Derek is a natural leader who gives so much effort which is genuine, not phony."

Not to be overlooked either was the performance of the UWSP guards who kept ball handling mistakes to a minimum. Gabe Frank tallied eight points, including a huge 3-pointer from the far corner which gave the Pointers a 61-50 lead while Nate Vosters added seven points and a game high five assists.