MBB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[frodotwo]

What an amazing game for the Pointers tonight. Down 4 and Whitewater with the ball 22.5 sec to play. 4 fouls and 12 seconds later Point rebounds a missed free throw and Krull nails a 3 pointer. After another foul and missed free throw the Pointers get the ball back with 5.5 sec left and work for the last shot down 73-72. High arching shot from 3 point land by Brian Beamish.............GOOD!!!!! Pandemonium in the stands and a mugging of Beamish on the court (reminiscent of a certain shot in a NCAA championship game?) by his teammates.                What a game!!! Point up by 11 with 8 minutes to go and WW comes back on a 19-4 run. Both teams played very well!!!!  Very impressed with Jason Price who hit some very important shots during their big run as didl Rob Perry. Coach Miller must be the most fiery coach in the Conference now that Jack is no longer around. Point got rattled by the WW press near the end and had quite a few unforced errors on the night as well. WW is deserving of the acolades they get, now if they could only hit free throws when they are really needed. Can't say enough about all of the Point players. Every one that got in the game made a significant contribution to the victory. Now to see what LX brings to the Quandt on Saturday!!

[bulk19]

Final UWEC 63, UWRF 62, on a last second bucket by Zack Ryan...

I got there the second half, so I don't know how things shook out that half... Golds were up 44-36 when I arrived, and they almost gave it away....

Golds were up 61-59, with 1:27 left on the clock, and able to control the ball down the stretch with two offensive boards, to run the clock down to 31 seconds. They then took a time out, and ran the clock down to 16, but had turnover... not what you want after taking a TO, that's for sure...
Falcons went down and tied it with seven seconds left, plus a harm, for an extra point, to take the lead at 62-61....

Not sure what happened next, but the play the 'Golds drew up worked. They were able to push it up court and Zack Ryan scored on a layup. Someone fell asleep on D?? Not sure - it happened so fast. He scored with 2 seconds left, but the Falcons were able to get off a three. It hit the rim as the buzzer sounded...

Beyer and Bardon each had 16, with Ryan at 12, to lead the Golds. Davis and Koonkaew each had 15, and Robertson and Thompson both had 12 for the Falcons... Falcons only had eight turnovers; Golds were only 6-11 from the free throw line...

[mythicalbird]

Well the EC/RF had some key points during the evening.  One being the injury of Steve Hoelzel at about the 8:00 minute mark.  EC had about a 5-7 point lead and were in control defensively and on the boards until Hoelzel got hurt.  After that, Matt Riley sprained an ankle at about the 3:00 minute mark.  At this point they were missing two starters and probably their best rebounders.  So to say that the Blugolds almost gave it way is misleading.  They fought and scrapped to the end using what they had, basically 4 guards and a power forward in at the end of the game giving away their height and size advantage that they had throughout most of the game with Hoelzel and Riley.  It sounds like Riley will be able to go this weekend in Northland.  Hoelzel on the other hand may be out longer with a knee injury.  Hopefully not too long though.

[Greek Tragedy]

Point/Whitewater boxscore

To add to frodotwo's input.

What a game, for both teams.  Whitewater controlled the game in the first half and lead 40-39.  Sharpshooter Pete Rortvedt was in foul trouble to start the game and basically played about 5 minutes of the first half.  I turned to Swampgoon at halftime and said, "Considering Pete hasn't played at all, I guess I can't complain being down only 1..."  Point was actually lucky to be down only one at the break.

Point turned it up in the 2nd half and had a seemingly comfortable 11 point lead with a little over 7 to play (63-52 or something like that)...after a time out, Whitewater scores, brings out the full court press, turnover by Point, 3-pter by Whitewater...missed shot by Point, score by Whitewater...and so on.  I swear, within about 2 minutes, not only had we blown our 11 point lead, we were LOSING.  Check the boxscore for specifics, I guess! 

Anyway, as the story says, Whitewater went on an incredible 19-5 run, helped by countless rebounds, including OFFENSIVE rebounds.  Point couldn't buy a rebound.  The story says Whitewater had NINE consecutive rebounds off of missed shots.  Incredible. 

Point's down 4 at 73-69 and I think it's all over.  Mlachnik missed TWO front ends of one and ones to give Point a chance to win.  Krull with a clutch 3-pter to cut it to 1 and then Beamish with a crazy winner. 

This is the Whitewater I was afraid of.  They have great depth and solid, athletic players.  Rob Perry was a stud and Jason Price was huge.  Point's interior help defense was a lot better in the 2nd half, but their post offense was again shut down by the taller Whitewater players.  Though against the Pointers, it's nice to see Whitewater come out and play well against a quality opponent.  I saw them against Martin Luther and Marian and they looked horrible.  Another tough loss to swallow when you should have the game in the bag if you just hit your free throws.  Point is definitely a perimeter and jump shooting team, so I have no complaints that Point only got to the line 4 times!  Wow.

[TitleTown2]

What happened to the #15 Pioneers last night? Like I said before, I figured this game may be the measuring stick for the Pioneers in this early season. It shows how good LaCrosse is, and that UWP still has a little way to go. Followed the game on the Pioneer website "livestats" page. Seems like the Pioneers had it working with Skemp early but couldn't extend any lead. If you leave a team around who is as good as Lax, it's going to come back to bite ya.

Even though I am dissappointed with the loss, gotta keep moving forward. Hopefully the Pioneers don't keep their heads down for too long.

Anyone who attended have any observations? Be interested to hear how Werner and ask scored 25 and 18, as well as who impressed you for Platteville last night. Looks like Skemp had another solid game (2 in a row), and freshman Curt Hanson played well...but what happened to the rest of them?

[badgerwarhawk]

I guess it's just been one of those snake bitten years for my WARHAWKS[/color] so far this year.

Three losses by seven points with the lead down the stretch in all three.  If we ever learn to make free throws and take care of the ball down the stretch, look out.

[stoutguy]

BadgerWarhawk.  I still think your team might be the most dangerous team in the league right now.  LaCrosse looked like they were going to be a force last year and sure enough, here they are.  They are not going to sneak up on anyone anymore.  Joe Werner is amazing.  Point, when shooting well, is still the favorite, and Oshkosh might have the most talent.  That looks like us trying to steal that #5 spot in the tournament.  That's not even for a home game.  I am depressed.  I think I will go back on the football board and piss off your students, again.

[UWPSUPERFAN77]

I missed the game vs Lacrosse at Bo Court. I overslept. Hail to UWL for a great 10 to 15 minute run to close the 1st half and Early 2nd Half. This is wild and exciting this year. We have 5 to 6 really good teams this year. i think 12-4 or 11-5 will win it this year. i am deciding to take a road trip to RF in the next day or two. open to sharing gas or a ride. Write me privately. God Bless you bloggers and keep up the good work. PS remember to attend games not just listen to them All of our great players, women and men need our support.We all have Wisconsin in our names!

[plattbacker]

Most of the credit goes to LaCrosse.  They played great defense and shot high-percentage shots.  A couple glaring statistics: UW-P shot 25 3's (6-25) and UW-L attempted 36 FT's (27-36). 

UW-P had some nice looks, especially in the first half, but the ball just wasn't going in.  I thought they showed a lot of heart in the second half cutting a 17 point deficit to a 7 point deficit with 2 minutes to go, but LaCrosee made their FT's when it counted. 

Pioneers will keep improving.  They are very young, so there will be bumps in the road this year.  Individually, Jeff Skemp has improved his post presence, both with his technique and beefed up frame.  If he keeps progressing and the young guards pick up some confidence, they will be a tough out for anyone. 

Anyone who attended have any observations? Be interested to hear how Werner and ask scored 25 and 18, as well as who impressed you for Platteville last night. Looks like Skemp had another solid game (2 in a row), and freshman Curt Hanson played well...but what happened to the rest of them?

Have you seen Werner and Ask play basketball?  That should clue you in.  Werner plays 5-6 inches taller and is deadly near the basket.  Ask is just a nice, all-around player.  He did make 8 FT's, had a couple lay ups, and mid range shots if I remember correctly.  He also played great defense. 

I think, other than Skemp, you will see a different person every night stepping up.  Lohoff was heckled all night by LaCrosse, never found his shot.  Mike Shaw (a freshman) was unable to hit a few early jumpers.  Curt Hanson (another freshman) found his groove late.  Nobody looked particularly good, except Skemp and Hanson.  For those of you who will see Mike Shaw and Curt Hanson play, let us know what you think of them.  I believe Shaw has the quickest release that I've seen in a long time.  Hanson hustles his butt off on defense and has that "pure" shooting form.  It will be fun to watch all of our young guys continue to play (remember, UW-P starts a freshman, sophomore, one junior and two seniors) and Richter (sophomore) is the first man of the bench) and Hanson (a freshman) plays about 20 minutes a game.  But, there will be growing pains, and I think a lot of that will come on the defensive end. 

LaCrosse had a lot of open looks, and there were just break downs on defense.  That is expected with a young team.  I could tell that LaCrosse was playing with a little more experience, and I remember a few years ago when nobody really wanted to play LaCrosse because their young guys were really turning heads.  Well guess what?  They're Juniors and Seniors now, and it shows.  I think UW-L and UWSP will be within a few points, looks like both are playing well now. 

[ItIsWhatItIs]

Well, from #4 to #8 to #25 to presumably out of the top 25, Whitewater is struggling.  Although, I am encouraged to see Price playing...and had this been the case all along, I think UWW would still be in the top 15.  Game decisions are still the downfall of this team.  I understand Mlachnik has been a good freethrow shooter, but until he attempted the freethrows that could have sealed the deal, he had not gone to the line all night.  Why not seek out Toellner, Price or Fruend to get the ball in that situation.  Talent and depth is limited without structure, guidance and brain power. 

They have no place else to go but up from here...come tournament time, they will be the most feared team for sure because of their potential, but until then, they must improve including coaches' decisions.

[plattbacker]

They have the most potentional year in/year out.  There always seems to be some excuse to why they don't meet that potential. 

[stoutguy]

Old School.  We plan to talk to Jack Bennett about WIAC basketball on our Western Wisconsin Sports Saturday.   He will be on at 9:45.  We are on the internet at WMEQ.com.  Click on Listen Live. 

[John Gleich]

Good recap Plattbacker, nice to have some reporting from the Southeastern part of the state!

Should be another good game this Saturday in the Point/LaX game, you're right.  There seem to be a lot of these going on this year in the league... but I guess that's the WIAC!

[ItIsWhatItIs]

They have the most potentional year in/year out.  There always seems to be some excuse to why they don't meet that potential. 

So very true...I think you start looking at the leadership first in situations like this.

[badgerwarhawk]

In Miller's five complete seasons as head coach he's won 2 conference championships and finished 2nd twice.  His worse finish was 4th.  That's one year out of five that we haven't really been in the running for the league title.  I'd like to win a conference championship every year but how realistic is that?

Yet we have a leadership problem.