STEVENS POINT, Wis. – The No. 6 UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team heads to Michigan to face Hope College on Saturday in non-conference play.
 
THE BASICS
Who:  #6 UW-Stevens Point (4-1) at Hope College (4-2)
When: Saturday, December 8 – 6:00 p.m. CT
Where: DeVos Fieldhouse – Holland, Mich.
Follow:  Live Stats | Watch | Listen - 92.1 FM WPCN | Notes (PDF)
 
LAST TIME OUT
UWSP's defense held UW-Superior to just 16 first-half points and the Pointers rolled to a 79-36 win on Saturday.  Nate Dodge (East Troy, Wis./East Troy) scored a game-high 23 points and single-handedly out-scored the Yellowjackets for more than 26 minutes.  Sophomore Garrett Nelson (Beaver Dam, Wis./Beaver Dam) pitched in 13 points, a career high.
 
DEFENSE FIRST
The Pointers rank first in the conference with 57.8 points allowed through the first five games.  UWSP also tops the league with a +7.80 turnover margin.

FAST START
The Pointers have scored first in four of the five games this season.  In three of the games, UWSP has led, 6-0, 8-0 and 10-0 to begin games.  The Pointers have out-scored opponents 192-123 in the first half this season.
 
DODGE DOES IT AGAIN
Dodge scored 40 points at Augustana on Nov. 28, the second time in his career at UWSP with 40 or more points (42 vs. Hope on Dec. 8, 2017).  He is just the third player in program history with multiple 40+ point games.  His effort landed him his second career WIAC Player of the Week honor as well.
 
DOUBLE DOWN
The Pointers began the year with two players in double-figure scoring in the season-opening win at St. Olaf.  In game two, UWSP had three players in double figures, all with 17 or more points. Last week, UWSP got double-digit scoring from four players in the win over Edgewood.  In Wednesday's game at Augustana, Dodge and O'Heron were the only two in double figures, but the duo combined for 60 of the Pointers' 84 points.
 
WINNING BIG
The Pointers opened the 2018-19 season with three-straight wins by double digits.  The last time UWSP started a season with three wins by 10 or more points was in 2013-14.  That season, the Pointers won the first 10 games of the season by 10 or more points.  All four UWSP wins have come by double-digit margins.
 
ABOUT UW-STEVENS POINT - Home | Roster | Schedule | Stats
UWSP came in at No. 6 in this week's D3Hoops.com ranking.  Dodge leads the Pointers with a 19.8 scoring average for the season, second-best in the WIAC. Dodge leads the WIAC with 4.20 three-point makes per game this season.  O'Heron is second at 12.2 as the Pointers have four players in double figures.  Drew Fredrickson (Mount Horeb, Wis./Mount Horeb) is a perfect 11-for-11 from the line this year and leads UWSP with 16 assists.  His 3.20 assist-to-turnover ratio is second in the conference. Brett Tauber (Madison, Wis./Memorial) has a team-high 27 rebounds and 11 have come on the offensive glass.
 
ABOUT HOPE- Home | Roster | Schedule | Stats
Hope is 4-2 on the year with all four wins coming when the Flying Dutchmen scored 78 or more points.  In both losses, Hope has been held under 60 points.  Senior Jason Beckman tops a quartet of Hope players in double-figure scoring with 23.8 points per game and he ahs dished out a team-high 34 assists.  Fellow senior Dennis Towns has grabbed a team-best 38 rebounds with 12 coming on the offensive glass. 
 
SERIES HISTORY
UWSP holds a 4-1 series edge over Hope College as the two squads have met each of the last five seasons.  Last season, Dodge set a school record with 10 made three-pointers and poured in 42 points as UWSP downed Hope 91-77.
 
THE COACHES
Bob Semling in his 14th 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 287-81, including a 152-37 mark in WIAC play. His .780 career winning percentage entering this season was the third-highest among active Division III coaches and ranks first all-time among Division III for coaches with at least 10 seasons as a head coach.
 
Greg Mitchell is in his fifth season as head coach at Hope College and holds a 88-32 record.  He led the Flying Dutchmen to Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association regular season titles and NCAA Tournament appearances in each of his first three seasons. Prior to joining Hope, Mitchell spent 25 years as varsity boys basketball coach at Laingsburg High School.  Mitchell played for Hope for four seasons and led the Flying Dutchmen to two MIAA championships and three NCAA Tournaments.
 
UP NEXT
The Pointers return to Stevens Point for the final home non-conference game against Ripon on Wednesday (Dec. 12) at 7:00 p.m. on Bennett Court.