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The Mineral Point boys basketball team couldn't have asked for a much better start to Thursday's game, nor could it have asked for a much better response with the Panthers cut the lead to just four points in the third quarter.
The Pointers used a 19-7 first quarter advantage to build a lead they would never relinquish en route to a 56-39 SWAL win.
A 10-2 advantage for the hosts started the game that included a three each from Joey Gorgen and Turner Poad. Two more three pointers, one each from Poad and Alec Schmitz, ended first quarter scoring and put the Pointers up 19-7 at the end of one.
Iowa-Grant whittled away at the Pointer lead in the second quarter behind seven points from Isaac Anderson. The Panthers slowed the game down and took away much of the Pointer speed by forcing Mineral Point into a half-court offense. The Pointers led 29-21 at the break.
A three each from Collin Price and Caleb Hill, along with a hoop from Anderson, pulled Iowa-Grant within 33-29 at the 4:41 mark of the third quarter, but that would be as close as the Panthers would get as Mineral Point responded with a 12-4 run to close out the quarter and take a 45-33 lead into the fourth. That run was spearheaded by Sy Staver with eight points, including a bucket at the buzzer.
A Tarek Oellerich hoop at the 4:07 mark of the fourth would be the last Pointer field goal of the game, but Mineral Point went a perfect six of six at the charity stripe in the closing minutes to keep Iowa-Grant at bay.
Staver took game-high scoring honors with 16 points. Poad added 13, Oellerich 12, and Schmitz 11.
Anderson and Price were the top Panthers with 12 each.
"We played pretty well for about the first 20 minutes of the game--defended well and executed on offense decently," said Panther coach Toby Tripalin. "When you play a team like Mineral Point, you must stay focused and aggressive for 32 minutes to have a chance to win. They took care of the ball better and maintained their intensity and focus longer than we did. There is a reason they have lost one game in two years--they are focused and prepared to play every night."
"I thought our defense was solid all night," said Pointer coach Dan Burreson. "Iowa-Grant has some weapons that we needed to account for and our help defense was good."
"Sy really made things happen. Tarek had a big night on the boards, and we need that from him every night. We were balanced once again offensively with four guys in double figures, and that makes us tough to defend. It was a real team effort again tonight, especially on the defensive end with Sy, Turner and Joey," concluded Burreson.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
IG: 7-14-12-6--39
MP: 19-10-16-11--56
BOX SCORE
IOWA-GRANT (fg-ft-tp) 39: Johnson 2-2/4-6, Anderson 5-2/4-12, Hill 2-0-5, Milliken 2-0-4, Price 5-1/2-12. Totals: 16-5/10-39. Fouls: 17. Three pointers: Hill 1, Price 1.
MINERAL POINT 56: Staver 5-6/6-16, Gorgen 1-1/2-4, Oellerich 4-4/4-12, Poad 5-0-13, Schmitz 3-2/2-11, Blume 0-0/1-0. Totals: 18-13/15-56. Fouls: 12. Three pointers: Poad 3, Schmitz 3, Gorgen 1.