News Release

STEVENS POINT, Wis. — Jason Kalsow became UW-Stevens Point’s all-time leading scorer in the first half of Wednesday’s 75-64 men’s basketball victory over UW-Whitewater, but it was teammate Nick Bennett who stole the show in the second half.

Kalsow had 20 points and 10 rebounds to give him 1,661 for his career and surpass Tim Naegeli as the school’s all-time scoring leader. Naegeli totaled 1,649 points from 1983-87. Kalsow accomplished the feat while starting all 110 games of his four-year career. His 10 rebounds moved him with 26 of a 46-year old school rebounding record held by La Vern Luebstorf.

He reached the mark with 2:43 left in the first half, but it took longer than expected. Kalsow was four-for-11 from the field after missing a layup, but got his own rebound and was fouled going back up for the shot. He missed the first free throw and then made the second to eclipse Naegeli’s mark. His performance comes just 15 days after Amanda Nechuta became the school’s all-time leading women’s basketball scorer.

“The record means a lot, but I’m glad to have it overwith,” said Kalsow. “My main focus tonight was winning this game, though. This was a big win for us.”

In fact, the victory kept the Pointers in a first place tie with UW-Platteville, which defeated UW-Oshkosh to put a three-game distance between the top two teams and third place. The second-ranked Pointers are now 19-2 overall and 11-2 in the WIAC, avenging a 71-63 loss to the Warhawks in their first meeting this year.

Despite Kalsow’s milestone night, it was Bennett who robbed Kalsow of some of the limelight on Wednesday, pouring in 31 points, including 24 in the second half. The senior missed his first five shot attempts of the game and then was on fire the rest of the way, finishing 10-for-17 from the field and five-for-seven from three-point range. In fact, Bennett did some moving on the all-time scoring list as well, climbing two spots into ninth place with 1,429 points for his career.

Bennett and Kalsow weren’t the only ones who started the night cold as UW-Stevens Point missed its first seven shots and was two-for-14 from the field at one point, while UW-Whitewater was two-for-12 at one stage.

The Pointers closed the first half with an 8-2 run as Brian Bauer drained a three-pointer with four seconds left in the period for a 31-23 advantage.

UW-Stevens Point built the lead in the second half and pushed it to 14 points at 51-37 with 12:38 left. However, the Warhawks rallied by driving the ball to the hoop and getting to the free throw line. UW-Whitewater went on a 12-2 run, scoring eight of its next 10 points from the line to cut the lead to four.

The Pointers led 55-52 with 5:41 left when Bennett hit a closely guarded three-pointer on the next possession. Bennett then had a steal and passed to Eric Maus for a layup and an eight-point lead. After two more Warhawks’ free throws, Bennett hit another layup and two free throws to cap a 9-2 run and give the Pointers a 64-54 lead with 3:43 left.

After UW-Whitewater’s Craig Anderson cut the lead to 64-59 on a three-pointer from the corner with 2:46 left, Kyle Grusczynski drilled a three-pointer to give the Pointers a 67-59 lead. Angelo Griffin then missed two free throws, snapping a string of 20 straight made free throws by the Warhawks, who were 24-for-28 at the line for the night.

UW-Stevens Point also had a big night at the line, hitting their final eight attempts to seal the win and finishing 21-for-25 for the night. The Pointers shot 59.1 percent from the field and were six-for-nine from three-point range in the second half after shooting 32.3 percent in the first half.

Griffin and Rob Dixon each had 14 points for the Warhawks, who shot 37.0 percent and were held to their second-lowest point total of the year by the nation’s top scoring defense.