Lindsey hits 1000 points, Pointer boys beat Belleville in Hall of Fame game

By John Dalton

Senior Eli Lindsey hit his 1000th point Saturday afternoon, four players scored in double-figures, and Mineral Point dominated Belleville 68-39 in its annual Hall of Fame game.  It was particularly rewarding for Lindsey as his father Matt was able to watch him hit the milestone, as his father was one of five Pointers inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday.  

“A big shout-out to my dad being inducted into the Hall of Fame today, it's pretty cool, I’m glad that I was able to hit it on his day too, I think he was pretty happy about that,” Eli said following the game.  

Tucker Dannenberg hit a 3-point bucket to get the Pointers going in the first minute of the game and the Pointers never looked back in this contest building a big lead early.  Nerves may have played a small part in Lindsey missing his first couple of shot attempts.  But Drew Aschliman, Jaxson Wendhausen, and Keaton Dempsey would hit shots to help build the Pointer's lead.  

But after a Belleville turnover, the ball ended up in Aschliman’s hands who found Lindsey on a fast-break and he laid it in for his 1000 career point.  Following a timeout, he followed it up with a steal a two-handed dunk shot, and a 17-4 Mineral Point lead.  “I was a little nervous for this, but I get nervous in the locker room pretty much before every game coach would tell you, so it was about the same,” Lindsey said.  

The Pointers were up 21 at halftime 34-13.  Continued pressure defense by Mineral Point created several Wildcat turnovers resulting in points.  Lindsey hit his first shot of the second half in the lane to start things off.  He finished the game with 13 points.  Aschliman got many points off of steals and easy baskets and led the Pointers with 18 points on the afternoon.  Wendhausen followed with 16 points.  

With all players getting into the action on Saturday, Brett Bossert, Brylen Lee, and Wyatt Peat were able to score and get valuable playing time as the Pointers had no problem with Belleville winning 68-39.

When Lindsey was asked about hitting his 1000th point following the game, he said, “It’s over, and it's something I’m not too worried about right now, we’re worried about the season and what we can do.  I never been about personal goals for me and what we can do as a team, but don’t get me wrong, it felt good,” he said, “but’s all about team basketball, it’s never about yourself.” 

Mineral Point Head Coach Dan Burreson said following the game, “I thought guys played well, I think we used our length defensively, and we shared it well offensively.  We had good production with four guys in double-figures and a lot of guys contributed to the victory,” he said. 

Regarding Lindsey, Burreson added, “He’s an unassuming guy, a quiet leader who blazed his own path, I think.  Both his siblings hit over 1000 points so I’m sure that was in the back of his mind, but he’s a different player, a real versatile guy for us,” he said.  “He can score inside.  He can score outside.  But the big thing about him is he defends really well and that’s what is underrated.”  

Mineral Point hosted Dodgeville Tuesday night and you can see the story of that game in this edition of the paper.  The Pointers host Darlington on Friday, January 31st at 7:30 p.m.  On Monday, February 3rd, Mineral Point will host Lancaster starting at 7:30 p.m. 

For video highlights of both the game and the Hall of Fame induction, go to The Democrat or The Chronicle’s Facebook page.  

BOX SCORE

Mineral Point 34 – 34 – 68

Belleville        13 – 26 – 39

Mineral Point (fg-ft-tp); Drew Aschliman 6-5-18, Jaxson Wendhausen 6-1-16, Eli Lindsey 6-0-13, Keaton Dempsey 5-0-10, Brett Bossert 2-0-4, Tucker Dannenberg 1-0-3, Wyatt Peat 1-0-2, Brylen Lee 1-0-2.

3-pointers; Wendhausen 3, Lindsey 1, Aschliman 1, Dannenberg 1.

Belleville (fg-ft-tp); Jackson Scholey 5-0-11, Adam Cann 3-0-8, Brendan Pawloski 4-0-8, Bryce Babler 1-2-5, Samuel Arndt 2-1-5, Gavan Jerome 1-0-2.

3-pointers; Cann 2, Scholey 1, Babler 1.