Pointers smother Warhawks, capture eighth WIAC Tournament title - Mar 10, 2014
In a meeting of the top two
ranked teams in the country, the UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team
went on a run midway through the first half and led by double digits
for the final 28:11 of a 74-57 win over UW-Whitewater in the Wisconsin
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Tournament championship game
on Sunday afternoon at Bennett Court at Quandt Fieldhouse. With the win, UW-Stevens Point (26-1) added its eighth WIAC Tournament title to its 28th regular-season championship. Senior Tyler Tillema
(6'3''-G) (Randolph, WI/Randolph) led all scorers with 23 points on
8-for-15 shooting and added 12 rebounds, three assists and four steals
in 39 minutes. The Pointers secured the WIAC's automatic bid into the
NCAA Tournament, which begins next weekend. UWSP will find out where
and who it will play in the tournament on Monday's selection show at
11:30 a.m. UW-Stevens Point has made the NCAA Tournament the last eight
seasons and 10 of the last 11. The Pointers trailed 8-6 early but
scored 31 of the next 37 first-half points. UW-Stevens Point shot 55.6
percent in the opening half and held UW-Whitewater to four field goals
on 17.4 percent shooting in the opening 20 minutes. UWSP forced 13
turnovers in the first half and turned them into a 15-2 advantage in
points off turnovers. Trailing 8-6 after eight minutes of play,
UW-Stevens Point went on a 12-0 run to take a 18-8 lead over the span of
two minutes. Tillema sparked the run with a pair of layups and a dunk
on the fast break. The Warhawks committed four turnovers over the
two-minute stretch. A minute after the first run, the Pointers scored
seven consecutive points to go up by 15, 25-10. UW-Stevens Point held
UW-Whitewater scoreless for 3:42. UWSP then kept the Warhawks off the
scoreboard in the final 4:35 of the first half and scored the final 12
points of the half. In the second half, the closest UW-Whitewater got
was 17 in the last three minutes of the game. UW-Stevens Point led by
27 on two occasions. The Warhawks shot 43.6 percent from the field and
all four of their three-pointers in the game after the break. Quardell Young (6'0''-PG) scored 15 of his team-high 19 points in the second half. The Pointers cooled off slightly to 42.9 percent in the second half to finish the game at a 50.0 percent clip. Trevor Hass
(6'4''-G-92) (New London, WI/New London/Augustana (SD)) recorded 13 of
his 18 points and shot 4-for-5 from the field in the second half. Hass
also finished with five rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals. Joe Ritchay
(6'3''-G) (Wisconsin Rapids, WI/Lincoln) was the third UW-Stevens Point
player to score in double figures, narrowly missing out on a
double-double with 13 points and eight rebounds. Tillema, Hass, Ritchay
combined to score 54 of UWSP's 74 points in the game. After 13
first-half turnovers, UW-Whitewater committed just two in the second
half. UW-Stevens Point also committed 15 turnovers in the game, leading
to 11 points for the Warhawks. The Pointers shot 21-for-26 (80.8
percent) from the free-throw line in the game, including 17-for-21 in
the second half. The 21 made free throws are tied for the second-most in
a game for UWSP this season.
Courtesy of WIAC
WIAC Tournament Final: UW-Stevens Point - UW-Whitewater 74-57
Player of the Year:
Tyler Tillema (6'3''-G) of Wisc.-Stevens Point Scholar-Athlete of the Year:
Alex Merg (6'1''-G) of Wisc.-Whitewater Coach of the Year:
Bob Semling of Wisc.-Stevens Point
All-Defensive Team
G:
Eric Bryson (6'2''-G) of Wisc.-Whitewater
C:
Chas Cross (6'8''-C) of Wisc.-Platteville
G:
Alex Merg (6'1''-G) of Wisc.-Whitewater
PG:
Austin Ryf (6'0''-PG) of Wisc.-Stevens Point
F:
Ollie White (6'7''-F) of Wisc.-River Falls
Semling
