Box Score

WHITEWATER – After falling behind by 14 in the second half the eighth-ranked UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team battled back and had a chance to tie at the end, but fell to fourth-ranked UW-Whitewater 75-71 tonight in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Tournament championship game at Kachel Gym.

It is the first time the Pointers have lost a WIAC Tournament championship game, falling to 4-1. This is the first time Stevens Point has played on the road in a championship game. The Warhawks win their second tournament title in the last three years.

The Warhawks scored the first seven points of the game in the first two minutes of the contest. With the score 20-14 Whitewater, the Pointers went on a 7-0 run to take a 21-20 lead after a Louis Hurd (Portage/Portage) (Fr.-Portage) three-pointer halfway through the first half.

After the teams exchanged the lead, the Pointers held the edge for five minutes and went up three after a jumper by Steve Hicklin (Sussex/Hamilton) (Sr.-Sussex/Hamilton) with a minute left in the half. The Warhawks then hit a three-pointer to tie it and drained another three at the end of half to go up 37-34.

The Pointers shot 68 % in the first half on 15-of-22 shooting. They were 4-for-5 on three-point attempts. Stevens Point had a 9-7 advantage on the glass, but the Pointers didn't have an offensive rebound. The Pointers did not shoot a free throw in the half. Whitewater shot 56 % and were 4-for-8 on three-point attempts. The Warhawks scored 12 points off of turnovers.

Whitewater held the lead, but not by more than three points in the first five minutes. The Warhawks then lengthened their margin with a 12-0 run to make the score 53-40 with 10:46 left in the game. The Warhawks got the lead up to 14 halfway through the half.

Stevens Point got the lead down to six with six minutes left in the game when Pete Rortvedt (Minocqua/Lakeland) (Jr.-Minocqua/Lakeland) nailed a three-pointer. The Whitewater lead remained around seven until Steve Hicklin (Sussex/Hamilton) hit a three-pointer with 2:21 left. Khalifa El-Amin (Milwaukee/Rufus King) (Milwaukee/Rufus King) then hit another three-pointer with 46 seconds left to make the score 67-64.

The Pointers got the lead down to two on a Matt Moses (Fond du Lac/St. Mary Springs) (So.-Fond du Lac/St. Mary Springs) layup with 17 seconds left. After a pair of free throws, Steve Hicklin (Sussex/Hamilton) drained a three to cut the lead to one. The Warhawks made two more free throws with under 10 seconds left and Stevens Point had a chance to tie it, but the shot came up short and Whitewater went on to win 75-71.

The Pointers shot 59 % from the field, including 9-for-14 from beyond the three-point line. Stevens Point was just 2-for-6 from the free throw line. Whitewater shot 50 % from the field and was 16-for-23 from the free throw line. The Warhawks scored 15 points off of 11 Pointer turnovers and had 10 offensive rebounds, compared to four for Stevens Point.

Steve Hicklin (Sussex/Hamilton) led the Pointers with 20 points. Hicklin was 8-for-14 from the floor, including 3-for-4 on three-point attempts. Khalifa El-Amin (Milwaukee/Rufus King) had 15 points and Louis Hurd (Portage/Portage) added 10 points. Pete Rortvedt (Minocqua/Lakeland) had a team-high nine rebounds. Myles McKay and Kori Vernon both had 20 points to lead Whitewater.

The Pointers will now have to wait and see until Monday morning when the teams and pairings will be announced for the NCAA Division III Tournament. Be sure to check the Pointers Athletics web site for tournament information.