Seniors lead Pointers to 76-60 victory
STEVENS POINT, Wis. – Seniors Jordan Brezinski (Muskego, WI/Muskego) and Dan Tillema (Randolph, WI/Randolph/Minnesota-Duluth) both recorded double doubles as the UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team rolled to a 76-60 victory over UW-La Crosse on Saturday afternoon at Bennett Court.
The Eagles jumped out to a quick start as they recorded 10 of the game's first 16 points for a six-point edge just over five minutes into the contest.
UW-L held the lead for a majority of the first half but could not gain more than a four-point advantage. UWSP was able to even the score at 29-29 with one minutes remaining and a free throw by D. Tillema gave the Pointers a 30-29 lead at halftime.
UWSP did not wait long to increase its one-point lead as it opened the second half with a 30-10 run for a 70-39 lead with 5:23 remaining.
The Eagles cut the UWSP lead down to 16 with just over two minutes to play but could not come any closer resulting in a 76-60 victory for the Pointers.
D. Tillema led all scorers with 24 points and had a game and career-high 14 rebounds. Brezinski recorded his fourth double-double in his last five games with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Tyler Tillema (Randolph, WI/Randolph) also scored in double figures with 12 points.
Derek Braucht led UW-L with 11 points while Lucas Collom chipped in with 10.
For the game, UWSP outshot UW-L from the free-throw line as it connected on 26-of-32 attempts compared to 8-12 for the Eagles.
UW-Stevens Point (18-4, 11-3 WIAC) returns to action on Wednesday as it travels to UW-Oshkosh to take on the Titans in conference play. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
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Women's basketball takes down Eagles, 79-69
STEVENS POINT, Wis.-The 12th-ranked UW-Stevens Point women's basketball team extended its win streak to six Saturday afternoon, defeating UW-La Crosse 79-69 in Berg Gym.
The game went back and forth most of the first half with four lead changes while the score was tied seven times. Senior Cassie Bandow (Plover, WI/Pacelli) led the Pointers, scoring 12 points in the first half.
With just under two minutes left in the half, Ashley Averkamp (New Berlin, WI/West) sparked a 6-0 run to give the Pointers a 35-29 advantage heading into the locker room.
After a Brooke Allen (Barneveld, WI/Barneveld) three-pointer to start the second half, the Eagles rallied and went on a 7-0 run to knot the score at 38.
UWSP reclaimed the lead with a Sam Barber (Schofield, WI/D.C. Everest/Winona St.) jumper at the 17:04 mark and never looked back. The Pointers took control and held a lead as high as 15. A late Eagles run cut the Pointer lead to eight with 1:24 remaining, but Bandow's late free-throws sealed the Pointer victory, 79-69.
Barber led the Pointers with a career-high 34 points, scoring 23 in the second half. Bandow added 21 points and dished out a game-high seven assists while fellow senior Averkamp chipped in with 12 points and seven rebounds.
As a team, the Pointers shot an impressive 52 percent from the field (26-for-50) and 69.2 percent (9-for-13) from behind the arc.
UW-L's Kassie Robinson led all scorers with 36 points while Rachael Salata added 10.
UWSP (19-3, 11-2 WIAC) returns to the court Wednesday as they host UW-Oshkosh in Berg Gym at 7 p.m.
