Box Score
ST. PAUL – It wasn't the start that the Pointers had hoped for, but all that matters is the result as the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point men's basketball team rallied from a 17-0 deficit to start to the game to knockout the University of Chicago 67-53 in the first round NCAA Division III Basketball Tournament hosted by the University of St. Thomas.
The Pointers did not get their first field goal of the game until the 13:20-mark of the first half and trailed 17-0.
“We had to keep our poise,” head coach Bob Semling said. “We were getting good looks, but the shots were just not falling. We had to keep encouraging guys to go inside.”
Once the Pointers got their first basket, it didn't take long to get back into the game. Stevens Point went on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 17-8 with halfway through the first half and then went on a 12-0 run to take a 21-19 lead. The Pointers outscored the Maroons 29-7 the last 13 minutes of the first half to go into halftime with a 29-24 lead.
“I thought our defense energized our offense at the end of the first half,” Semling said. “We finished five out of five or four out of five stops defensively the last 20 possessions of the first half.
Stevens Point led by nine in the second half after a Steve Hicklin (Sussex/Hamilton) (Sr.-Sussex/Hamilton) three-pointer made the score 41-32 with 15 minutes left in the game. Chicago did not go away as it went on a 10-2 run to cut the lead to one. Bryan Beamish (Wisconsin Rapids/Lincoln) (Jr.-Wisconsin Rapids/Lincoln) responded scoring the next seven points to put the Pointers up 50-44 with eight minutes left. Beamish finished the game with a career-high 26 points on 10-of-14 shooting.
“I was really proud the way Bryan responded from the slow start,” Semling said. “Once his shots started falling, his confidence went through the roof and we rode him in the second half.
The Maroons got the lead down to two, but Stevens Point responded again with a three-pointer from Hicklin as they closed the game much better than the way they started it, scoring 14 of the final 16 points to win 67-53.
The Pointers shot 56 % in the second half, compared to just 36 % in the first half. Stevens Point scored 15 points off of 13 Maroon turnovers. The Pointers bench had a 38-7 advantage.
Beamish led the Pointers with 26 points. Scott Hoelzel (Kaukauna/Kaukauna) (So.-Kaukauna) added 12 points off the bench and Steve Hicklin (Sussex/Hamilton) had 11 points. Hicklin also had a team-high six rebounds. Matt Corning had 15 points to lead Chicago.
Stevens Point will face Buena Vista University in the second round as the Beavers knocked off the host St. Thomas 72-70. “They (Buena Vista) are avery aggressive team that likes to pound it in to their big men down in the post,” Semling said. “It's going to be a steep challenge.” The game time for that game is 7 p.m.
