MBB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[tomt4525]

Sorry it took me so long to post. I had to catch up on all the posts from all the WIAC games over the weekend.

We went to the Beloit/Monmouth game on our way to Platteville. After the Beloit game, we drove another near-2 hours west to Platteville, as the Pioneers hosted the Pointers in a WIAC clash. I'm not sure why WIAC teams charge so much, $10 for general admission, $12 for fancy reserved seats. Beloit was free for everyone. The stands were a little too dark for my liking and we took the last row like usual, for the back support up against the wall.

This game had 2 different halves. The 1st half seemed wide open with lots of easy baskets. Point jumped out early, only for the hosts to bounce back. The visitors took a 5-point lead into the half as Point shot over 70%, while the Pioneers were around 55%. I think it was 48-43. The 2nd half was a grinder. Tough to get points. As usual, Point came out cold in the 2nd half and Platteville took full advantage to grab a 10-point lead. Instead of packing it in, Point stormed back late and took a 3-point lead. Platteville nailed a game tying 3 with about 20 seconds to go. Point had the last shot, but missed a deep 3 at the buzzer. Free basketball for everyone! It was a defensive clinic in the extra 5 minutes as only 4 free throws made the difference for Point's upset road victory.

Even if I wasn't a Point fan, this was probably the best game I've been to. Back and forth, OT grinder. The fans didn't match the game. The reserve section on the opposite side was non-existent. A few dedicated Pointer fans that made the trip made some noise including yours truly and the wife in tow. Not to pat myself on the back, but I believe some of the Platteville fans on our side of the stands started getting noisy because we were. It was a long trip home, but a happy one.

Other notes. Semling went small for a lot of the game with 4 guards and forward Timm playing most of the minutes. Point got killed on the offensive boards early, but did well late in the game and OT. I really didn't realize that no one made a basket in OT with only Makinen accounting for all the points from the line. Platteville had 6 missed fgs and 4 of them were behind the arc.  Surprising since Point was playing three 6'0" guards and a 6'2" guard for most of the game. It's no wonder Platteville dominated the boards for most of the game. However, late in the 2nd half, Point seemed to out hustle Platteville for the rebounds and even out rebounded them in OT.

Point really showed toughness on the road, which makes me wonder what happened at Stout. Semling really seemed to trust the four guards and Timm. Everyone shot the ball well, overall, except Zach Mootz (2-13). Brennan finally shot well, while Gillie came off the bench and scored 6 points in only 9 minutes. Myles Coleman is quick and I like what he can do, but he's a TO machine. Maybe he's playing too fast. VanCalster was in sweats, so maybe he got hurt?

I liked what I saw Saturday. They still went cold in  stretches, but bounced back when they went 10 down. Even the Stout game had flashes of good ball. They have to get more out of their bigs though. Point was 7-12 from 3 in the 1st half, but only 3-10 after the break. I don't want to live and die by the 3.

Near the end of the Calvin game, I noticed Van Calster involved in a loose ball.  After the loose ball happened, you could see Van Calster start limping.  He was getting subbed out on that dead ball already, and he didn't go back into the game after that.  It looked like an ankle to me, but that could be wrong.  Like I said, he limped off so he must have tweaked it atleast.  I didn't think it looked extremely serious though, hopefully he's back for next game, Point needs him.

Also, I recently noticed that 2 more transfers are now not listed on Point's roster.  Jason Larson and Kael Stulo are no longer listed.  I definitely thought Larson would help this team.  I expected him to start, could use his size on the wing.  I watched him in high school at Mt. Horeb and was extremely impressed.

[badgerwarhawk]

Lake Forest: 61
WARHAWKS: 78

Miles Barnstable's layup opened the scoring and gave the WARHAWKS a lead they would hold for the game.  Though they never trailed the lead was precarious ranging from 2 to 5 points until Barnstable took the ball the length of the court and scored at the buzzer creating a 37-30 halftime score.  The WARHAWK lead fluctuated between 6 and 11 for the first 9 minutes of the second half but at that point the WARHAWKS pushed it into double figures, reaching a high of 20, the rest of the way.  Scoring was relatively balanced, oddly by both teams, with each having 4 players reach double figures.  WARHAWKS double scorers included Delvin Barnstable (19), Miles Barnstable (15), Jamer Barker (14) and Carter Capstran (10).  The Barnstable brothers combined for 15 rebounds (M:6,D:9) and Barker finished with 7 assists and a pair of steals.

The evening was in remembrance of Derek Gray and a white out.  Fans were given a white tee shirt with DG4 imprinted on it.   A ceremony, attended by his family, honoring Derek was held during halftime.  Derek was awarded an honorary diploma and a tribute video was played. It was very emotional. 

Next: Olivet College Saturday

[Greek Tragedy]

Platteville beat North Central (IL) last night 65-55.

Whitewater topped Lake Forest 78-61 as well.

Tonight, Eau Claire beat Wartburg 72-58, River Falls lost to Viterbo 85-70 and La Crosse remained unbeaten by destroying Luther 70-41.

Trine travels to Wisconsin this week to take on the Pointers tomorrow night and then La Crosse on Saturday.

Stout hosts Loras on Friday.

On Saturday, Whitewater hosts Olivet, the aforementioned Eagles host Trine, River Falls plays Carroll in Wisconsin Dells and Platteville hosts Hope in the big game of the night.

[Greek Tragedy]

The evening was in remembrance of Derek Gray and a white out.  Fans were given a white tee shirt with DG4 imprinted on it.   A ceremony, attended by his family, honoring Derek was held during halftime.  Derek was awarded an honorary diploma and a tribute video was played. It was very emotional. 

Next: Olivet College Saturday

I bet there wasn't a dry eye in the place. Hopefully there was a huge crowd to honor Derek.

[tomt4525]

Van Calster's injury is more serious than I expected and hoped. He will rest his knee/leg for the next few weeks and reassess at that point.  If' it's not better, he will have to get surgery, which will end his season.

[John Gleich]

Van Calster's injury is more serious than I expected and hoped. He will rest his knee/leg for the next few weeks and reassess at that point.  If' it's not better, he will have to get surgery, which will end his season.

Hope he is able to recover soon!

SP leads 6-0 (Receiving votes) Trine 24-18 at the half.

[Greek Tragedy]

Wow. Point with a big win over previously unbeaten Trine. Point up 51-49 and Buchanan with a big block on a potential game-winning 3 pointer. Ryan Genrich seals it with two free throws for the 53-49 win.

[tomt4525]

Fox Valley Lutheran 6'7" F, Nicholas Kraftzenk, has committed to play collegiate basketball for Coach Lewis and the Oshkosh Titans.

[badgerwarhawk]

While it isn't WIAC related I wanted to note something.  Grinnell College has set a NCAA record for most three point attempts in a game.  The Pioneers attempted 111 shots from beyond the arc sinking 40 of them in their 124-67 romp over somebody called Emmaus Bible School.  The Pioneers did not attempt a single two point shot in the contest.  Insane

[Greek Tragedy]

While it isn't WIAC related I wanted to note something.  Grinnell College has set a NCAA record for most three point attempts in a game.  The Pioneers attempted 111 shots from beyond the arc sinking 40 of them in their 124-67 romp over somebody called Emmaus Bible School.  The Pioneers did not attempt a single two point shot in the contest.  Insane

It's too bad Grinnell has become a gimmick. Back in their hayday, with John Grotberg, Bobby Long and Little Arsenault, they were actually pretty good and a joy to watch. Since then, at times, they've gone away from their traditional System Ball to break records, usually against non-D3 opponents. Jack Taylor, who played at La Crosse, I believe, broke the scoring record with Grinnell. Instead of hockey-like substitutions, they kept Jack in the game. They also went away from their normal strategy to get Dave Arseneault the assist record.

[Greek Tragedy]

When it comes to the MIAA, it starts and stops at Hope and Calvin for me. I don't know much about Trine, but I guess they are pretty good, coming into the Point game undefeated and also receiving votes in the Top 25 poll this past week. Their 6 wins don't seem real impressive: Manchester (3-4, 3-0 in HCAC), Earlham (1-6, 0-2 HCAC), Benedictine (4-5, 2-1 NACC), Rose-Hulman 5(5-3, 2-0 HCAC), Capital (3-4, 1-1 OAC) and Anderson (3-5, 1-0 HCAC). In the covid year, they went 17-1 and were ranked #2(?) only losing to #1 RMC.

So, I guess you can say Point's win over them was a good win. Again impressed with Point's play down the stretch. They got the stops they needed and Buchanan stepped up with a big block. Point again used a super small line up of Buchanan, Makinen, Mootz and Genrich to close out the game, along with Timm. Buchanan, Makinen and Genrich are all 6'0", Mootz is 6'2" and Timm is 6'5".

Trine looked like they had Cox 6'6", Jannsen 6'2", Megnanglo 6'8", Jones 6'3" and Smylie 6'5" at the end. Vander Veldon started for Point and he's 6'8" but only played 23 minutes. The point is that the Pointers actually outrebounded Trine by 3 and only gave up 4 offensive rebounds (a big improvement from the Platteville game) while getting 9 offensive boards themselves. Obviously, height is an advantage but it can be negated a little by good positioning and just outplaying the opposition. It's interesting that Gillie (who has actually started more games than he hasn't) and Coleman played only 4 and 2 minutes, respectively. Both average about 14 minutes a game. Gillie is 6'5' and Coleman is 6'3", giving the team a little more height. Despite the solid play by the 6'0" guys, I will continue to hope that our bigs improve over the course of the season and we can rely on them down the stretch in tight games.

[John Gleich]

Trine beat La Crosse this afternoon.

[Greek Tragedy]

I guess that Point win over Trine looks really good now. What a surprise. La Crosse has looked unbeatable. It's a MIAA double dip as Hope goes to Platteville and takes home a win as well. Whitewater saves the MIAA 3-game sweep with a victory over Olivet. River Falls takes one on the chin in Wisconsin Dells, losing to Carroll. The Pioneers are picked to finish last in the CCIW. Ouch.

[itsnotmeitsyou]

Brody Fox is a DUDE! Not sure if Stout will be good enough this year to support his candidacy- but he's a definite 1st Team/Player of the Year talent.

[badgerwarhawk]

Olivet: 67
WARHAWKS: 83

The WARHAWKS started the scoring and led by as many as eight points over the first eight and half minutes.  Olivet rallied and gained the lead at that point holding it and building it to five over the next five minutes however with the scored tied 39-39 the WARHAWKS finished the last three minutes of the half with an 8-0 run and led 47-39 when it ended.  Olivet cut into the lead and reduced it to a single point, 53-52, at thirteen and half minutes.  The WARHAWKS maintained the lead but it never exceeded two possessions until a three pointer by JT Hoytnik followed by a layup by Trevon Chislom made the score 68-58.  After that the lead remained in double digits reaching it's highest point 79-61 with a couple minutes left.  Chislom led five WARHAWKS who scored in double digits with 21 and tied for the team high in rebounds with 9.  Jameer Barker (17), Delvin Barnstable (12), Carter Capstran (11) and Drew Fisher (10) were the other WARHAWKS scoring in double figures.  Fisher also pulled down 9 rebounds.  Hoytnik played a productive 17 minutes finishing with 7 points and a team high 4 assists.  The WARHAWKS shot 9-15 from beyond the arc.   But incredibly with a score like this it was the free throws that made the difference.  Olivet went 5-7 on 13 WARHAWKS fouls while the WARHAWKS made 24-34 on 27 Olivet fouls.  There could have been more fouls called both ways.  Some of it was ugly.

The student body seems to have adopted Earl Lewis, freshman guard from Madison East, as a sign calling for him was prominent and they got pretty excited when he entered. 

Next: Greenville (away)  12/17 ....  Last year's game ended with a 143-102 WARHAWKS win.