Fri 25-Feb-2000

Pointers don't back down
UW-SP takes its lumps before bounding Superior
By Denis Downey of the Stevens Point Journal

Rodney Dangerfield used to tell a joke about going to a fight and having a hockey game break out.

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point men's basketball coach Jack Bennett knows how he feels. For the second time in a month, UW-Superior came to Quandt Fieldhouse on Thursday and brought with it an aggressive, physical style of play that at times more resembled wrestling and football than basketball.

But, unlike their last meeting when the Yellowjackets bruised their way to 61-60 win, this time the Pointers answered the bell to pull out an 80-73 overtime victory in the semifinals of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament.

"That was as intense and emotional a game as I have been part of and I have been involved in a lot of big games," said Bennett. "The key was that we matched their physical play. We just didn't back down and that is what I am most proud of.

"It is difficult to take a team like ours, that is a finesse team, and ask them to play a different style. But we were able to do it tonight and to come away with a win."

The win puts the top-seeded Pointers into the WIAC championship game against second-seeded Eau Claire Saturday at 7 p.m. at Quandt Field-house. The Blugolds downed Oshkosh 71-55 in Thursday's other semifinal.