UWSP locks up automatic NCAA men's basketball berth
STEVENS POINT - Brett Tauber walked the length of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point bench and gave each player a high five or fist bump.
Moments later, Tauber led a group hug on Bennett Court and smiles spreading across each player's face with 33 seconds remaining.
As the final seconds of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship game ticked off senior MJ Delmore shared an emotional hug with coach Bob Semling.
UWSP is back in the NCAA Division III tournament. There will be no sleepless nights Sunday wondering if the No. 23 ranked Pointers will receive an at-large bid.
Delmore finished with a game-high 22 points and the Pointers claimed their ninth WIAC tournament title in 10 appearances with a determined 59-44 win over UW-River Falls at the Quandt Fieldhouse.
The Pointers (19-8) will find out their opponent in the opening round when the NCAA unveils its Division III bracket on Monday.
"We had a moment and we had to share that," Delmore said of the hug with coach Semling. "I believe in him, we all believe in (coach).
"Coming back and winning the WIAC is incredible. We put in so much work. We knew it would pay off at some point and here we are. I can't even describe it."
The NCAA berth is the first since UWSP won the school's fourth national championship in 2015. That was also the last time it won the conference tournament.
By completing a three-game season sweep over River Falls, the Pointers demonstrated yet more resiliency in a season filled with adversity.
Top returning scorer Ethan Bublitz was lost early in the season to ankle surgery. Yet they never flinched.
UWSP missed out on the WIAC regular season title with a loss to UW-Eau Claire. Instead of feeling sorry for themselves, the Pointers went back to work.
Now they'll be hanging yet another conference banner on the walls of Quandt Fieldhouse.
"(The loss to UW- Eau Claire) was heartbreaking really. We thought that was our national championship," Delmore said. "We knew we had to bounce back after the loss. We put it behind us."
Points proved extremely hard to come by in the opening half for both teams.
UWSP endured an 11-minute scoring drought and was staring at a seven-point deficit in the final minute of the first half.
Enter Delmore who scored five quick points, including a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to draw within 23-21 headed to the break.
"We just couldn't get it going on offense. I tried to make some plays and my teammates got me open a couple times. Cutting it to two was huge," Delmore said.
A smothering defense enabled UWSP to hang close until shots started falling.
That happened early in the second half when Drew Fredrickson, who finished with 17 points, and Delmore knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers.
The shots came as part of a 10-for-22 shooting performance from behind the arc. The quick six-point spurt put the Pointers up 37-33.
Semling offered a running fist pump along the sidelines and they never trailed again thanks to lockdown effort on the defensive end of the court.
River Falls was held under 50 points only twice all season and both times came in losses to the Pointers.
"We talked on Monday about how we needed to replace the tears of sorrow and the pain (of the loss to Eau Claire) and replace them with tears of joy on Sunday," Semling said. "It's all about these guys.
"(This championship) kind of epitomizes all the hardships, the obstacles, the adversity that we have faced over the years."
UW-River Falls 23 21 - 44
UWSP 21 38 - 59
UW-RIVER FALLS (44): Clay Seifert 8, Alex Herink 9, Matt Keller 11, Austin Moldenhauer 6, Julian Jackson 10.
UW-STEVENS POINT (59): MJ Delmore 22, Nate Dodge 9, Drew Fredrickson 17, Canon O'Hearn 11.
3-pointers: River Falls 6 (Seifert 2, Herink 2, Moldenhauer 2); Stevens Point 10 (Delmore 5, Dodge, Fredrickson 4).
Records: UW-Stevens Point 19-8; UW-River Falls 18-9.