By TYLER DRUMMOND
of The Gazette
The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UW-SP) Men's basketball team is headed to the big dance.
After winning the WIAC Conference Tournament, the Pointers are set to take on Benedictine University, a small school from the Chicago area Thursday night.
"We're really happy with what we've accomplished," said head coach Jack Bennett.
The Pointers put themselves in a must win situation after faltering towards the end of the season and finishing with a final record of 23-5 (11-5 in the WIAC).
"Winning the WIAC tournament was extremely important," said Bennett. "We had to win our way in with three very tough back to the wall wins against some great opponents."
In the first round, the Pointers finally found a way to execute against a tough Superior squad that had beaten the Pointers in two regular season meetings, the second of which caused the Pointers to lose out on a share of the WIAC regular season championship.
"We took some things out of our first two losses that we were able to use in the third game," said Bennett.
After dispatching of Superior, the Pointers then played some of their most complete basketball games of the season to beat Oshkosh and then Plattville in the championship game.
And so the Pointers enter the NCAA Division III tournament hoping to advance further than they did last year. The Pointers lost in the second round of the tournament to eventual runner-up Gustavus Adolphus, 75-62. Should the Pointers beat Benedictine, it would set up a rematch against Adolphus in Minnesota on Saturday.
To get to the rematch, however, the Pointers will have to beat a tough Benedictine squad that ended the regular season at 20-7.
"We're looking at videotape," said Bennett. "They're a good team, very strong, athletic, and fast. They'll be tough to defend."
To stop the Benedictine train, the Pointers will need to derail the Eagles top scorer, Will Crawford, who is averaging 14.4 points per game this season. Another threat is Matt Harrison who is averaging 12.4 points per game.
To counter, the Pointers will provide some of their own firepower, as both Jason Kalsow and Nick Bennett are having outstanding seasons. Kalsow is averaging 17.9 points per game and also is shooting the ball well at just a touch under 54 percent from the field. On the flip side, Nick Bennett is averaging 15.4 points per game, and has been a sharpshooter from long range, knocking down 43 percent from the three-point range. Other important contributors are Eric Maus, Jon Krull and Brian Bauer.
Another key to the Pointers is point guard Tamaris Relerford. While Relerford averages only 4.4 points per game, he has been essential on the offensive and defensive side. "We've been starting Tamaris for the last few games and he's really working out for us," said Bennett. "Plus with Tamaris starting, it's helping Neal Krajnik coming off the bench to replace him."
If the Pointers are going to go far into the postseason, Bennett hopes the fans will follow. "We'd love to get a full house at the Benedictine game and then have a strong contingency of fans follow us to wherever our wins take us," he said.