From the Stevens Point Journal

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - First semester exams won't be held for another month, but the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point men's basketball team faced its second test in two nights Saturday as they took on Northern Kentucky - the No. 6 ranked team in Division II - in the championship game of the Northern Kentucky Classic.

And while the Pointers came up short - falling to the Norse 64-60 - they passed the test with flying colors in the eyes of coach Jack Bennett.

"I couldn't be prouder of our effort," said Bennett, whose team is 1-1. "We took a national-championship caliber type team to the wire on their floor.  "As the old saying goes, if you spend yourself on a worthy cause and leave it all on the floor, you have to feel all right and we do."

The Pointers, who fell behind by 12 in the early going, took a 58-57 lead on a basket by senior forward Brant Bailey with 3:20 to go in the second half.   But Brian Lawhon answered with a 3-pointer and a 2-point basket to put Northern Kentucky up 62-58 and the Norse held on for the win.

"This was a team that scored 120 points last (Friday) night," Bennett said.  "We said we needed to keep it under 70 points and we did. We didn't win, but I'm very pleased with what happened.  "Before we dream of being competitive in our conference, we needed to prove we could be competitive here and we did."

Bailey followed up his 24-point, 13-rebound performance in Friday's semifinal win over St. Michael's with 23 points and nine boards against Northern Kentucky and was named the tournament's MVP.

"You can see all the work he did in the offseason paying off," Bennett said of Bailey. "He was as good as any of the scholarship kids out there tonight."

Derek Kind was also in double figures for UW-SP with 10 points.

Lawhon edged Bailey for game-high scoring honors with 25 points, hitting on 8-of-11 shots - including 7-of-9 from behind the 3-point arc.

"We kept it close and every time we seemed like we were going to make a move, that No. 12 (Lawhon) came up with a big shot," Bennett said.

Billy Brewster added 12 points for Northern Kentucky (2-0).

The Pointers rallied from their slow start to pull to within 30-27 at halftime. 

Neither team shot the ball well in the contest. The Pointers hit for just 36 percent (19-of-52), while the Norse shot 37 percent (20-for-54). UW-SP outrebounded Northern Kentucky 39-38.

The Pointers host Lawrence Tuesday in their home opener at 7 p.m. in Quandt Fieldhouse.

UW-SP/Northern Kentucky Summary

Northern Kentucky 30 34 - 64

UW-SP 27 33 - 60

N. Ken. (64) - Sanders 2-7 1-3 7, Brewster 2-6 8-10 12, Wieber 2-6 0-0 4, Lawhon 8-11 2-3 25, Listerman 1-5 1-4 3, Conley 2-6 0-2 5, Stowers 0-5 0-0 0, Rupe 0-2 0-0 0, Norwell 2-3 1-2 5, Marston 1-3 0-0 3.

UW-SP (60) - Zuiker 1-3 3-4 5, Frank 1-1 0-0 3, Bailey 7-12 9-12 23, Kind 4-14 0-0 10, Larsen 1-4 2-2 5, Vosters 0-0 0-0 0, Kadima 2-10 2-4 6, Iserloth 1-5 0-0 2, Kornowski 2-3 0-0 6.

3-pointers: N. Ken. 11-25 (Lawhon 7-9, Sanders 2-7, Conley 1-2, Stowers 0-3, Marston 1-3, Listerman 0-1). UW-SP 6-21 (Kind 2-10, Larsen 1-4, Kornowski 2-3, Kadima 0-2, Frank 1-1, Iserloth 0-1).

Rebounds: N. Ken. 38 (Wieber 6, Listerman 6, Conley 6). UW-SP 39 (Zuiker 9, Bailey 9).

Assists: N. Ken. 14 (Conley 4). UW-SP 8 (Larsen 3). Fouls: N. Ken. 21, UW-SP 19. Fouled out: none.