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After a sluggish first quarter, the Pointer boys basketball team was looking for an exclamation mark.
They got one right before halftime in the form of a slam dunk from senior Tarek Oellerich.
"That was a big momentum swing heading into halftime," said Pointer coach Dan Burreson. "Tarek had been looking for that dunk all year and he got it at a great time to give us a boost. But what really led to the dunk was the steal that created it."
That slam helped the Pointers hold a 26-17 halftime lead en route to the 64-48 WIAA Division 4 Sectional Semifinal victory Thursday night in Verona.
It wasn't just the dunk that highlighted the second quarter. The offensive prowess of the Pointers was firing on all cylinders with Alec Schmitz hitting back to back three pointers to start the scoring. Joey Gorgen tossed in a three of his own, and two free throws from Oellerich with 1:09 to go saw Deerfield star Blake Ehrke pick up his 3rd foul.
Mineral Point extended its lead in the third quarter using an early 8-0 run that saw buckets from Oellerich, Schmitz, and Gorgen. Consecutive threes late from Gorgen and Sy Staver put the Pointers up 46-29 entering the fourth, seemingly in control.
But Deerfield had other ideas.
After two free throws from Staver to start the fourth, the Demons mounted their rally that sparked a 13-2 run to pull within 50-42 with 3:07 remaining. Deerfield hit for five three pointers in the period.
Despite not scoring a field goal for the final 5:28, the Pointers were able to ice the game by going a perfect 16 of 16 from the free throw line in the final eight minutes.
Ehrke led all scorers with 17 points. His Demon teammate Tristen Jourdan added 10. Ehrke, only a junior, is already Deerfield's all-time leading scorer.
Mineral Point had five players in double digits--Gorgen with 15, Oellerich and Staver with 12 each, and Turner Poad and Schmitz with 10 apiece.
"Our guys have put a lot of time into their free throw shooting in practice to improve and it showed. Also, I thought we took very good care of the basketball tonight with only a few turnovers. As a team, we've prided ourselves on sharing the ball well all season," said Burreson.
"We had five guys in doubles tonight, which makes us tough to defend. I'm very pleased with our kids as they've put a ton of time and effort into this and it paid off tonight," said the coach.
Deerfield concluded the season with an 18-7 record. Mineral Point improved to 25-0 with the win and advanced to face Melrose-Mindoro Saturday in the sectional final.

SCORE BY QUARTERS
DE: 7-10-12-19--48
MP: 7-19-20-18--64
BOX SCORE
DEERFIELD (fg-ft-tp) 48: Knapp 2-2/5-7, Farnsworth 2-0-6, Jourdan 4-0-10, Ehrke 6-1/2-17, Gjermo 1-0-2, Jahr 2-1/2-5, Schindler 0-1/2-1. Totals: 17-5/11-48. Fouls: 21. Three pointers: Ehrke 4, Farnsworth 2, Jourdan 2, Knapp 1.
MINERAL POINT 64: Staver 1-10/13-12, Kittleson 2-0-5, Gorgen 5-2/2-15, Oellerich 5-2/2-12, Poad 4-0-10, Schmitz 2-6/6-10. Totals: 19-20/23-64. Fouls: 14. Fouled out: Poad. Three pointers: Gorgen 3, Poad 2, Kittleson 1.