Issued: February 12, 2004

MEN'S BASKETBALL TO BATTLE 12th-RANKED STEVENS POINT

EAU CLAIRE - The UW-Eau Claire men's basketball team, looking to earn a spot in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament, will square off with UW-Stevens Point Saturday at 5:00 p.m. at W.L. Zorn Arena.

A Blugold win coupled with a UW-La Crosse loss to UW-Whitewater would ensure Eau Claire at least the eighth seed in the conference tourney. Both Eau Claire and UW-Superior currently own a conference record of 4-10 while La Crosse has won three straight games to move to 3-11 in the WIAC. The team with the worst conference record at the end of the season will be the odd-man out of the eight-team postseason tournament.

The Blugolds will be looking to end a four-game losing skid while the Pointers are fresh off a 20-point road victory over UW-Whitewater. Casey Drake (Jr.-Rhinelander) has led the Blugolds all season long and currently sits fourth in the conference with 16.7 points per game. Drake also leads the team with 4.4 rebounds per game while Dan Archambault (Jr.-Oshkosh/West) has helped carry the load offensively with 13.7 points per game and has connected on 36.1 percent from downtown.

Stevens Point comes into the contest with an overall mark of 18-4 and a conference record of 9-4 with three games remaining. The team comes in with wins in six of its last seven games, the only loss coming 70-59 at UW-River Falls. A Pointer win coupled with a Whitewater loss to La Crosse would place Stevens Point in a tie for first place in the WIAC.

The Pointers possess a tough combination of a high-powered offense and a stingy defense as they have the best scoring defense in the conference while scoring the second most points. Stevens Point has allowed an average of just 56.2 points per game while scoring 71.5 per game. The Pointers are led by inside player Jason Kalsow and perimeter threat Nick Bennett. Kalsow is averaging the second most points per game in the conference with 18.5 while grabbing the third most rebounds with 8.0 per game. The 6-7 junior has connected on 54.2 percent of his shots, placing him fourth in the conference in that category. Bennett brings a threat from long range to the game and is averaging a conference sixth-best 15.8 points per game. The 6-5 junior has hit 42.9 percent from long range, fourth in the WIAC.

The Blugolds hold a slight 76-71 all-time series advantage over Stevens Point but have dropped five consecutive games to the Pointers. Stevens Point earned a 70-58 victory over Eau Claire earlier this season with Kalsow scoring 19 points. Archambault led all scorers with 23 while Drake scored 17 in a losing effort. The Blugolds shot nearly 53 percent from the floor but turned the ball over 18 times in the loss.

The Eau Claire men's basketball team will also be sponsoring the annual men's alumni game which will take place at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday at W.L. Zorn Arena. Admission for the alumni game is free but normal admission prices will be charged for the varsity game at 5:00 p.m. All Eau Claire students will earn free admission with valid student identification.