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By Levi Zimmerman
It was a memorable day for Mineral Point basketball this weekend.
The boys basketball team hosted Platteville Saturday afternoon in the culmination of the fourth class being inducted into the Mineral Point basketball Hall of Fame.
After the junior varsity game was completed, the following inductees were introduced to the crowd: Joe Bolan, class of 1959; Parker Doney, class of 2005; Amy Edge, class of 2001; Sam Graber, class of 1960; Brian Murphy, class of 1994; Cari Schaaf, class of 1999; Tom Speich, class of 1959.
The inductees from the late 1950s and early 1960s, Bolan, Graber and Speich, took a tour of the school and reminisced about their playing days.
After the ceremony, Pointer Nation saw the undefeated Pointers (6-0) struggle with Platteville (3-2).
The Hillmen gave Mineral Point fits early on, and they made just enough shots to stay close.
The Pointers had an uncharacteristic amount of turnovers, especially in the first half.
But the Pointers managed to take a 25-24 lead into halftime.
The score was tied at 27-27 until Mineral Point junior Alex Ross drilled a deep three-pointer with 15 minutes left in the second half.
Fellow junior Landon Thousand drove to the rim and converted a contestes layup to extend Mineral Point's lead to five on the next possession.
But Platteville tied it once more two minutes later after a rebound-and-score by Davyn Edge.
But Ross had something to say about that, as he knocked down another three.
It was beginning to look like deja vu, as Thousand drove to the lane again and made a layup to bring the score to 37-32 as Platteville called a timeout with 11:40 left.
The Pointers extended their lead to seven points after a basket by Brady Radtke on an assist from Thousand.
Thousand continued to be a threat, as he drove and scored with less than nine minutes left, giving Mineral Point a 45-36 lead.
The Hillmen trimmed the lead to three after a basket by Lucas Ludlum.
But every time Platteville got within striking distance, the Pointers had answers, and they were able to knock down enough free throws to close out a 55-49 win.
Mineral Point improved to 7-0 overall with the victory.
Head coach Dan Burreson said he didn't like the amount of turnovers and miscues, but he said it was a quality win in the end.
"We turned it over a little bit more than we would have liked, but it was a quality win over a quality opponent. We knew it would be a tough contest, and it was. Platteville can do a little bit of everything and play very well defensively," Burreson said. "I was really pleased with how we handled things down the stretch, and I'm pleased with our defense on the day."
Coach Burreson applauded several players with their performances in different roles.
"Alex Ross and Luke Kisgen led a balanced attack today. Eli Lindsey did a nice job defensively and led with nine rebounds. Cooper Palzkill had eight boards. Landon Thousand continues to do a nice job running the offense and had seven assists today. It was a really good defensive effort off the bench today from Bryce Vamstad, Tremaine Kenniker and Luke Filardo. Bryce had four big steals on the day," Burreson said.
Mineral Point will now look to Thursday when they travel to Hazel Green to face the Southwestern Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. in SWAL play.
SCORE BY HALVES
Platteville 24 25 49
Mineral Point 25 30 55
BOX SCORE
PLATTEVILLE 49: (fg-ft-tp) Tashner 2-0-4, Digman 3-4-12, Edge 4-0-10, Ludlum 5-1-11, Boebl 1-0-2, Heer 2-0-6, Coffer 1-0-2, McClain 1-0-2. Totals- 19-5/13-49. Fouls-16
MINERAL POINT 55: Kennicker 0-0-0, Ross 5-1-14, Thousand 4-0-8, Vamstad 3-2-8, Lindsey 2-2-6, L. Filardo 0-0-0, Kisgen 5-5-15, Radtke 2-0-4, Palzkill 0-0-0. Totals- 21-10/13-55. Fouls-11
3-point goals:
PLATTEVILLE (6)- Heer 2, Digman 2, Edge 2
MINERAL POINT (3)- Ross 3