Box Score

STEVENS POINT – The UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team needed overtime to defeat UW-La Crosse 74-66 tonight in the quarterfinals of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Tournament at Quandt Fieldhouse.

The Eagles led by five with under two minutes left in the game, but the Pointers battled back as Pete Rortvedt (Minocqua/Lakeland) (Jr.-Minocqua/Lakeland) hit a jumper and then a three-pointer with 59 seconds left to tie the game 55-55. La Crosse then hit a miraculous shot off a blocked shot when Billy Kegler tipped it in from four feet away from the basket with 16 seconds left. Freshman Jared Jenkins (Milwaukee/Rufus King) (Fr.-Milwaukee/Rufus King) then took the ball into the lane and hit a layup and was fouled to tie the game with 11 seconds left. He would miss the free throw, but the Pointers got the rebounds and would get a look from three, but it was short and we went to overtime.

In overtime, the teams traded baskets for the first couple minutes. The Eagles then took a 63-61 lead with 3:11 remaining. Stevens Point then scored the next seven points, five of which from the free throw line to take a 68-63 lead. La Crosse got it back down to two, but Louis Hurd (Portage/Portage) (Fr.-Portage) hit a jumper with 45 seconds left as the Pointers scored the final six points to win by a score of 74-66.

The Eagles were in the game and had the Pointers on the ropes because of freshman guard Tony Mane who scored 27 of his 37 points in the second half. The 37 points tie a WIAC Tournament record for most points scored in a game. He set a tournament record with 15 made field goals. The Eagles at one point led by seven in the second half after trailing 27-20 at the half.

Stevens Point got out to a quick start scoring the first seven points of the game. La Crosse got back into the game and hung around until the Pointers opened up an eight-point lead with three minutes remaining in the first half. The Pointers then opened up a nine-point lead at the beginning of the second half, before Mane started to go on his scoring spree.

Pete Rortvedt (Minocqua/Lakeland) led Stevens Point with 17 points and nine rebounds. Bryan Beamish (Wisconsin Rapids/Lincoln) (Jr.-Wisconsin Rapids/Lincoln) and Louis Hurd (Portage/Portage) each added 10 points.

The Pointers, who are ranked eighth in the most recent D3Hoops.com poll, improve to 9-1 in WIAC Quarterfinals games and have won 15 straight over the Eagles.

Stevens Point received some more good news tonight as UW-Eau Claire knocked off the No. 2 seed UW-Platteville, meaning the Pointers will host the Blugolds Wednesday night at Quandt Fieldhouse in the WIAC Semifinals. The tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.