Sun 06-Feb-2000

Pointers blast Pioneers, stay in 1st place
By Denis Downey of the Central Wisconsin Sunday staff

STEVENS POINT - It's not often a coach has a positive feeling after losing a big game - especially by 20 points.

But that was the reaction of University of Wisconsin-Platteville coach Todd Landrum following his team's 75-55 loss to UW-Stevens Point at Quandt Fieldhouse on Saturday.

"This was a great game - even getting our butts kicked," said Landrum. "This is a great league with great kids and great teams and great coaches and great fans."

The victory gives the Pointers (12-2 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) a two-game bulge over the Pioneers (9-4) in the loss column in the race for the league title. UW-Eau Claire is in second place at 10-3.

The win also marked the first time Platteville, the two-time defending NCAA Division III national champions, were swept in a regular season conference series since 1991. It was the Pointers' first season sweep of the Pioneers since 1987.

UW-SP snapped Platteville's 96-game home regular season winning streak earlier this season.

"This is a big thing for us," said UW-SP coach Jack Bennett. "Platteville has been the measuring stick, the standard in this league for a while now. There have been other teams that have also set a standard, but no team that has done what they have done over the past decade."

Senior forward Brant Bailey scored 17 of his game-high 23 points in the second half and fellow senior Gabe Frank added 19 points as UW-SP improved to 17-4 overall. Point guard Brent Larson added 11 for the Pointers. Joe Zuiker contributed 10 rebounds and five assists for UW-SP.

Mike Jones scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Tyler Selk added 12 for the Pioneers, 16-5 overall.

The Pointers set the tone for the game from the opening tip, hitting their first seven shots and jumping out to a 16-3 advantage five and a half minutes into the game.

Frank, who finished 8-of-9 from the field in the game, scored all 10 of his first-half points during the early run.

"I don't believe a game is won or lost in the first six or seven minutes,"

said Bennett. "But we got them back on their heels and got them doubtful with that start."

What made UW-SP's first half success even more amazing, was that Bailey, the WIAC's top scorer, had only six points before intermission.

"Our plan was to double down on Brant and to cut down on his free throws,"

said Landrum. "And in the first half we did that. But Frank came through and played a great game."

UW-SP shot a scorching 55 percent from the field for the contest (28-of-51), compared to 36 percent (21-58) for the Pioneers.

The Pointers led by as many as 13 points in the first half, before Platteville closed the gap to 32-23 at halftime.

"I was struggling in the first half and the rest of the team stepped it up,"

Bailey said. "We have a lot of guys who can score on this team."

Frank started the second half the way he started the first, by hitting the Pointers' first three shots of the half.

A layup by Bailey gave UW-SP a 13-point bulge, 45-32, four and half minutes into the half.

Platteville chipped away at the Pointer lead over the next eight minutes and cut the lead to seven - 51-44 - seven and half minutes remaining.

But Larson and the Pointers quickly erased any thoughts the Pioneers might have of getting back into the game.

After a layup by Bailey made it 53-44, Larson canned back-to-back 3-pointers that pushed the margin to 15 points with five and half minutes to go.

"Those two 3's by Larson were huge," said Bailey. "It just took the winds out of their sails."

Bailey put an exclamation point on the win by scoring the Pointers' final six points in spectacular fashion - with a dunk, a finger-roll lay-in off a steal and an alley-oop.

While Bailey was able to get untracked in the second half, the same was not true of the Pioneers' top scorer Merrill Brunson. Last year's Division III player of the year had just five points at halftime and only connected on a single 3-pointer in the second half. Brunson was just 3-for-12 from the field.

"They didn't do anything different or that we didn't expect (on Brunson),"

Landrum said. "They played their normal defense. They just did a great job of it."

The assignment of guarding Brunson most of the game went to junior guard Jay Bennett, who surprised even his father with his effort.

"We defended Platteville just about as well as anybody could defend Platteville," coach Bennett said. "Especially on Brunson - especially Jay. I hate to say it, but I guess I underestimated what he could do defensively."

The Pointers' plan was to have Bennett pressure Brunson into situations where he could then get defensive help from his teammates. And it worked to perfection.

"Jay was unbelievable," said Frank. "He got in his (Brunson's) face and he did a great job of forcing him to the middle, where we could help him.."

With two games remaining in the conference season - at Stout on Wednesday and at River Falls on Saturday - the Pointers hold their fate in their own hands.

On more win, regardless of what anyone else does, and they clinch at least a tie for the league title. Two wins and the WIAC crown is all theirs.

"We have two games left, but we are taking nothing for granted," Bennett said. "We are only looking as far ahead as the next game and these guys are hungry."