STEVENS POINT, Wis. – The UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team heads to Buena Vista University on Saturday looking to get in the win column.
THE BASICS
Who: UW-Stevens Point (0-1) at Buena Vista University (1-0)
When: Saturday, November 18 – 4:00 p.m.
Where: Siebens Fieldhouse – Storm Lake, Iowa
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LAST TIME OUT
UWSP suffered an offensive drought from the floor of more than 10 minutes as visiting St. Olaf pulled away for a 60-45 win in the Pointers' home opener.
Nate Dodge (East Troy, Wis./East Troy) and
Canon O'Heron (Bangor, Wis./Bangor) topped the team with eight points each.
Brett Tauber (Madison, Wis./Memorial) and
Drew Fredrickson (Mount Horeb, Wis./Mount Horeb) snagged eight boards each. The Pointers made just four three-pointers in the game, fewer than any game in 2016-17.
CRASHING THE GLASS
The one area that the Pointers excelled in on Wednesday was grabbing rebounds. UWSP out-rebounded the Oles, 38-33. Of his eight rebounds, Fredrickson snagged seven on the defensive glass. On the offensive boards, Tauber and
Mark Nelson (Madison, Wis./Monona Grove) hauled in four each.
SOLID DEBUTS
Junior transfer
Nate Dodge (East Troy, Wis./East Troy) had a solid outing in his Pointers' debut. He tied for the team-lead with eight points. He hit two shots from behind the arc and dished out a team-high two assists.
Freshman
Garrett Nelson (Beaver Dam, Wis./Beaver Dam) played 15 minutes in the collegiate debut. Scored three points and had a steal for the Pointers.
ONLY ONE WAY TO GO
The season-opening game couldn't have gone much worse for the Pointers. Several lengthy offensive droughts in the second half inhibited a comeback attempt against St. Olaf. The 45 points scored and four made three-pointers are fewer than any game last season. The Pointers shot just 29.6 percent from the field, the lowest field goal percentage since February 2016.
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Eight different Pointers recorded points in the season opener. All five starters contributed at least five points. Fredrickson and Tauber had a pair of steals each, equaling the St. Olaf team total for the game.
ABOUT BUENA VISTA - Home | Roster | Schedule | Stats
BVU opened the season with an 85-82 road win over Bethany Lutheran. The Beavers had five players in double-figure scoring led by senior David Jeffries' 15 points. Senior Thomas Wisecup and junior Connor Winkelman added 14 points apiece. BVU held on late for the win despite allowing Bethany Lutheran to shoot 46.2 percent from the field in the game.
SERIES HISTORY
UWSP leads the all-time series, 3-1, over Buena Vista. The Pointers scored 80+ points in a pair of wins in a home-and-home series in 2011-12 and 2012-13. UWSP's lone defeat in the series came in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2008, a 54-53 final.
THE COACHES
Bob Semling in his 13th season as the head coach at UW-Stevens Point and has won four national championships with the Pointers. He led the Pointers to national titles in 2010 and 2015 as a head coach and was an assistant on the back-to-back national title teams of 2004 and 2005. Semling has a career record of 262-71, including a 141-34 mark in WIAC play. His .787 career winning percentage entering this season was the third-highest among active Division III coaches and ranks 10th all-time among all divisions for coaches with at least 10 seasons as a head coach.
Head coach Brian Van Haaften has been at the helm of the Buena Vista program for 21 seasons. He brings a 398-179 record into Saturday's matchup with UWSP. Van Haaften has taken his Beavers to the NCAA Tournament nine times and reached the Sweet 16 three times. He was named the IIAC Coach of the Year seven times. Van Haaften has been a stalwart in Storm Lake moving from the local high school as the principal and basketball coach to the University.
UP NEXT
The Pointers continue a three-game road swing with an in-state battle at St. Norbert on Saturday, Nov. 25. Tip-off in De Pere is set for 7:00 p.m.
