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Regular season perfection at 22-0. That is the Mineral Point boys basketball team.
The Pointers played their final regular season game Thursday as Southwestern came to town, and the Wildcats did not make it easy on the Pointers, keeping things close for much of the game before Mineral Point earned the hard-fought 59-42 victory for the undefeated SWAL conference championship.
The game was closer throughout than many of the games the Pointers have been used to this season, but Southwestern is a solid Division 5 squad, compared to the Pointers being in Division 4. Plus, the Wildcats were the team to end the Pointer season last year in the regional final.
The first quarter was tight throughout. The Pointers got scoring from Sy Staver, Chanler Leonard, Trevor Wendhausen, and Tarek Oellerich, but were held scoreless over the final three minutes as Southwestern battled back to pull within 14-13 thanks to two three pointers in the final two minutes from Bailey Fellenzer.
The Pointers put the pressure on to start the second quarter and created turnovers which helped propel a 9-0 run to start, with five points from Staver. A buzzer beating three pointer from Wildcat Ezra Vaassen helped give Southwestern a boost going into halftime, but they still trailed 30-23.
A 7-0 run midway through the third quarter, cemented by a dunk from Leonard, seemed to put momentum firmly on the Pointer side, but another buzzer three, this time from Wildcat Fellenzer, kept the Wildcats in it, down 46-34.
Dustin Slaats' basket to start the fourth got the visitors within ten, but that would be as close as they could get, as the Pointers continued to shoot well down the stretch.
"Our recipe for success has been the same all season," said Pointer coach Dan Burreson. "We may not have been as sharp tonight as usual, but we had four players in double digits and shared the ball well, like we usually do."
Fellenzer and Fleege took top honors for the Wildcats with 13 points each.
Four Pointers reached double digits--Wendhausen led the way with 17, Poad and Staver tallied 13 each, and Leonard chipped in 10.
"I am incredibly proud of this team," added Burreson. "They put the time in individually and collectively. This didn't happen by accident. They work incredibly hard and are committed to each other, and to the team."
The Pointers had a first round WIAA tournament bye on Tuesday and will host the winner of #9 Belleville/#8 New Glarus on Friday in the regional semifinal.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
SW: 13-10-11-8--42
MP: 14-16-16-13--59
BOX SCORE
SOUTHWESTERN (fg-ft-tp) 42: Vaassen 1-0-3, Jansen 0-1/2-1, Fellenzer 4-2/3-13, Slaats 3-0-6, Fleege 6-1/2-13, Ky. Tranel 2-0-4, Ku. Tranel 1-0-2. Totals: 17-4/7-42. Fouls: 15. Three pointers: Fellenzer 3, Vaassen 1.
MINERAL POINT 59: Staver 5-2/2-13, Oellerich 2-0-4, Poad 5-0/2-13, Schmitz 1-0-2, Wendhausen 6-3/6-17, Leonard 4-2/2-10. Totals: 23-7/12-59. Fouls: 10. Three pointers: Poad 3, Wendhausen 2, Staver 1.