St. Norbert Goes Cold in Second-Round NCAA Tournament Loss to UW-Stevens Point

From Sports Information Director, March 6, 2010 | Men's Basketball
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

STEVENS POINT - St. Norbert College shot just 35.3 percent from the floor to lead to a second-round exit from the NCAA Division III Tournament with a 63-48 loss to UW-Stevens Point at Quandt Fieldhouse.

The winningest season in the history of the St. Norbert men's basketball program ended with a 23-4 record. Stevens Point, ranked fifth by D3hoops.com's Top 25, advances to sectional play with a 25-4 record.

St. Norbert, ranked 15th by D3hoops.com, made just 18 of 51 shots from the floor and couldn't get over the hump from an early deficit. Dave Wipperfurth's two free throws with 14 minutes 28 seconds left in the first half squared the game at 9-9, but the Pointers went on a 12-0 run over the next 3 1/2 minutes to take a 21-9 advantage.

The Green Knights would get to within 26-22 with 1:46 left in the half on Jake Dietz's layup, and would settle on a 28-22 halftime deficit.

Stevens Point led the entire second half. John Taylor brought St. Norbert to within 36-31 with 13:21 left on a layup, but consecutive 3-pointers by Ross Forman pushed the Pointers' bulge to 42-31. A Wipperfurth 3-pointer with 7:40 to go brought the Green Knights to within 46-40, but the closest they would get again was 50-43 with 4:26 left. The Pointers would make 7 of 8 free throws in the final 1:38 for the game's final margin.

Wipperfurth led St. Norbert with 15 points, while Chris Peterson added 12 points. The Green Knights were 8-for-10 at the free-throw line.

Matt Moses led the Pointers with 15 points, while Jerrel Harris added 14 points and Louis Hurd 12. The Pointers, who shot 42 percent (21-for-5) from the floor, were 13-for-21 at the free-throw line.