---

With temperatures outside solidly below zero, it was almost only natural that the Pointer boys basketball team started Tuesday night's game a bit cold.
But just like a car engine that needs to warm up before running in the deep freeze, Mineral Point fell behind in the first quarter only to come out smoking hot in the second and roll to the 62-35 SWAL win over visiting Riverdale.
The Chieftains took an early lead on the state's second ranked team in Division 4, going up 12-7 before Sy Staver scored with eight seconds left to bring the Pointers within 12-9 at the end of one.
Opening the second quarter with an 8-0 run, six coming from Trevor Wendhausen, saw the Pointers take the lead for good. Riverdale got it within four on two back to back buckets from Montana Lins at the 2:10 mark, but Mineral Point responded with a 7-0 stretch and held a 29-20 halftime lead.
The third quarter was much of the same as the Pointers started with a 6-0 burst, and closed the period with a 7-2 stretch to lead 42-27 with just eight minutes remaining.
The hammer really came down on the Chieftains in the fourth quarter, thanks in large part to a 16-4 run in the middle of the frame by the Pointers that saw scoring from Staver, Wendhausen, Chanler Leonard, and Alec Schmitz.
Wendhausen took game-high scoring honors with 19 points. Joining him in double digits were teammates Staver and Turner Poad with 11 each, and Leonard added 10.
The Chieftains only had four players score, and three of them were in double figures. Alex Meister led the way with 12, Nick Wiederholt added 11, and Lins chipped in 10.
"I felt we were a step slow, defensively, in the first quarter," said Pointer coach Dan Burreson. "We certainly didn't have the intensity we need for a conference game."
"In the second half, we did a better job creating turnovers, which allowed us to get into our offense. Again, we had great balance with four guys in double digits."
"I thought Turner and Trevor really got us going. Chanler had another double double tonight with ten rebounds. Sy had another solid night for us, and Taylor Ryman gave us good minutes off the bench. He works hard in practice, so it was nice to see that. This was a good win for us, and we will keep working to improve and get better," concluded the coach.
The Pointers only have one game this week, which is a conference battle at Darlington Friday night.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
R: 12-8-7-8--35
MP: 9-20-13-20--62
BOX SCORE
RIVERDALE (fg-ft-tp) 35: Franklin 1-0-2, Mesiter 4-4/10-12, Wiederholt 5-0-11, Lins 4-1/2-10. Totals: 14-5/12-35. Fouls: 17. Fouled out: Lins. Three pointers: Lins 1, Wiederholt 1.
MINERAL POINT 62: Staver 4-3/4-11, Oellerich 1-0-2, Poad 4-1/3-11, Schmitz 3-0/1-7, Wendhausen 6-5/7-19, Leonard 4-2/2-10, Ryman 1-0-2. Totals: 23-11/17-62. Fouls: 10. Three pointers: Poad 2, Wendhausen 2, Schmitz 1.