News Release

Stevens Point, Wis. — UW-Stevens Point has been one of the nation’s top defensive teams all season, but in Thursday’s NCAA Division III tournament opener, the Pointers red-hot offense was hitting on all cylinders in an 84-58 win over Benedictine (Ill.) at the Quandt Fieldhouse.

The Pointers shot 55.2 percent in the first half and even bettered that mark by hitting 62.5 percent in the second half to roll past the Eagles, who entered the game with the nation’s 16th best defense at 61.8 points per game. UW-Stevens Point, which ranks 12th nationally in field goal percentage, finished at 58.5 percent shooting for the game.

With the victory, the Pointers are now 24-5 overall and set up a second round rematch with last year’s Division III runner-up Gustavus Adolphus, which beat UW-Stevens Point 75-62 on its way to the national title game. The game is set for 7 p.m. on Saturday in St. Peter, Minn.

UW-Stevens Point opened Thursday’s game by hitting eight of its first 12 shots and opening up a 14-7 lead five minutes into the game with an 8-0 run after Benedictine grabbed an early 7-6 advantage. Nick Bennett connected on his first four three-point shot attempts in the first 10 minutes of the game and had 17 of his game-high 24 points in the first half. The Pointers continued to build the lead throughout the half and Neal Krajnik drained a three-pointer at the first half buzzer to bring a 46-29 lead into halftime.

UW-Stevens Point didn’t cool off in the second half, scoring the first nine points while hitting its first four shots to push the lead to 55-32 with 17:38 left in the game.

“I thought the key was that we played really well in the first half and then we took control immediately in the first five or six minutes of the second half,” UW-Stevens Point coach Jack Bennett said. “I knew it would be hard for them to come back at that point.”

Much like the first half, the Pointers continued to gradually build on the lead, pushing the advantage to as many as 28 points at 77-49 with 6:13 remaining. UW-Stevens Point, which ranks sixth nationally in defense, had another strong effort, holding the Eagles to 33.9 percent shooting for the game.

Bennett finished eight-for-12 from the floor and five-for-eight from three-point range. Jon Krull and Jason Kalsow each added 10 points for the Pointers. Benedictine was led by Matt Harrison with 19 points.

Jack Bennett is excited about the rematch with Gustavus Adolphus and happy to have an opening round victory as well after having a first round bye last year.

“It’s different this year, we won on Thursday and they’re waiting around,” he said. “In every great tournament run, you have to win a big game in an upset and we’re excited to go over there and play on Saturday.”

UW-STEVENS POINT 84, BENEDICTINE 58
BENEDICTINE (20-8)
Harrison, Matt 7-16 0-0 19; Crawford, Will 4-11 4-7 12; Hebeler, Chris 2-3 1-2 7; Russ, Isaac 1-7 4-6 6; Dankowski, Brett 2-6 0-0 6; Ramey, Zach 2-8 0-2 4; Uselding, Bryan 2-5 0-0 4; Franklin, Jimmy 0-1 0-2 0; Hansen, Adam 0-1 0-0 0; Sanchez, Juan 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-59 9-19 58.
UW-STEVENS POINT (24-5)
Bennett, Nick 8-12 3-3 24; Krull, Jon 5-6 0-0 10; Kalsow, Jason 5-11 0-1 10; Maus, Eric 3-3 2-2 8; Grusczynski, Kyle 3-6 2-3 8; Krajnik, Neal 1-2 4-4 7; Relerford, Tamaris 2-5 2-2 7; Prey, Mike 1-1 1-1 3; Bradley, Keven 1-1 0-0 3; Hirsch, Brett 1-3 0-0 2; Gleich, John 1-2 0-0 2; Bouche, Matt 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 31-53 14-17 84.
Benedictine...................   29   29  -   58
UW-Stevens Point..............   46   38  -   84
3-point goals-Benedictine 9-27 (Harrison, Matt 5-12; Dankowski, Brett 2-5; Hebeler, Chris 2-3; Ramey, Zach 0-3; Russ, Isaac 0-4), UW-Stevens Point 8-17 (Bennett, Nick 5-8; Relerford, Tamaris 1-3; Bradley, Keven 1-1; Krajnik, Neal 1-1; Grusczynski, Kyle 0-2; Kalsow, Jason 0-1; Krull, Jon 0-1). Fouled out--Benedictine-None, UW-Stevens Point-None. Rebounds-Benedictine 32 (Crawford, Will 7), UW-Stevens Point 34 (Kalsow, Jason 9). Assists-Benedictine 15 (Ramey, Zach 6), UW-Stevens Point 19 (Relerford, Tamaris 4; Bennett, Nick 4). Total fouls-Benedictine 19, UW-Stevens Point 12. A-1750.