Merry Christmas Fans!

I found a little time out of my day to wish you all a very Merry Christmas.  I hope you got what you wanted, shared laughs with your loved ones, and didn't get too fat with all the rich food that was laid out!

Now I have to get back to watching Christmas with John "the Duke" Wayne on AMC...

Merry Christmas to all...and to all a good night!!

Happy Holidays everyone!

Now that Finals week is over and done with, I can get back to sharing my thoughts on our Pointer journey.  Now I believe we were at Elmhurst...

We ended up traveling down the night before because of the horrible weather.  We practiced late that Friday night at 7:30.  It was a late night for the Pointers as we ended up having dinner after practice along with a film session.  Didn't get into our pj's until after 11 pm.

The morning came quickly and Game Day was upon us.  Elmhurst had Alumni Day so a lot of their past players were there to watch, so that was a extra reason for us to be on our toes.  It was a rough and tumble game like we've had before.  We jumped out to a 25-8 lead thanks to excellent shooting.  Then the flames went out completely as we were held scoreless for the last 6 or 7 minutes of the first half.

It was back and forth during the whole second half but we finally managed to pull away.  Props go out to senior point guard Khalif El-Amin, who ended the game with 25 points.  Known as the "Lil Fella," Khalif hit 5 trey's in the game, dished out 5 assists and snagged 3 boards.

The one unfortunate mishap of the game was that Matt Moses missed a one-and-one from the foul line, ending his school record streak of 35 consecutive free throws made.  I know you're not happy Mo, but it was a great run!   

That ended our non-conference road trips.  We ended up going 4-1.  Winning on the road is huge for any team and we got ourselves off to a great start.

Last night we played Edgewood College of the Northern Athletics Conference.  The Eagles traveled on treacherous roads to get up to Quandt Gym.  We knew we were going to get their best effort.

We had a very good offensive night, putting up our second highest point total of the year as we won 93-63.  Jared Jenkins led the way with 16.

I was blessed to be back in the lineup tonight for the first time this season.  My foot was finally feeling pretty good.  I want to take this time to thank my teammates, coaches, family and our fans for all their prayers and support.  They've made my time off as pleasant as possible.  Now I'll repay them by playing good basketball.

Sitting in Adam Spoehr's apartment right now.  He's our student assistant this year and he's been willing to let my teammate Kevin Flynn and I stay with him over winter break.  The dorms are shut down for the month so we have to stay with our teammates and such.  It's a great time to bond.  Lots of video games!

Christmas is less than a week away!  If you haven't gotten that shopping done there are a few last-minute sales left.  Just remember to keep those gift receipts!  The Pointers will be headed home on the 23rd for a few days off to be with our family and friends.  No game until the 30th.  It's a nice little break for all of us.

Be careful on the icy roads!  (If you live up here in the Northwoods)

Hello everyone,

Due to technical difficulties on the NCAA website my post on December 3^rd was erased.  I, not being prepared, didn't have the entry backed up on my computer, so it will be lost forever.  Hopefully the majority of you got to read it.

What a week it's been for the Pointers!  We are starting to send a message to the rest of the nation as to how good we can really be.  We got off to a great start in the WIAC by upsetting nationally ranked UW-Whitewater and beating UW-Lacrosse at home.

After a disappointing loss at Lawrence on the 3^rd we rallied back against UW-Whitewater.  Not only are they the #2 team in the country, but they are picked to win the WIAC.  We felt we needed to get a jump on everyone else, and we did just that, upsetting the Warhawks 67-64 in overtime.  Our backs were up against the wall as sharpshooting senior Pete Rortvedt was out with a concussion.  I couldn't go as well as I was still battling the stress fracture.  To make matters worse Bryan "Beam Team" Beamish went down in the first half with an MCL sprain.  But boy did our bench step up!  Sophomores Jared Jenkins, Nick Krull, and Vinny Ritchay put in some big minutes and made some nice plays down the stretch.  Jared tied up the game with a lay-up to put it into OT, making the score 59-59.

We never looked back...

Matt Moses started out the extra five minutes with five unanswered points.  Whitewater crept back in it, though, knotting the score at 64-64.  Bryan came back to hit two free throws, hobbling and all to put us up 66-64.  Jared sealed the deal with another charity point to make the final 67-64.

You should've seen our locker room!  Hugs were abounding everyone.  Smiles were beaming across everyone's faces.  Though he probably wouldn't want me telling you, but our coach Bob Semling was brought to tears after the game.  Tears of joy and pride.  He puts his heart and soul into Pointer Basketball, and I don't think he has ever been more proud of a group of guys.

This game has been one of the gutsiest performances I have ever seen out of my teammates.  I'm so glad I was able to be a part of it, and I'm glad our fans were able to see a heck of a game!

Back to reality...

Monday's practice was TOUGH to say the least.  I think Coach Sem feared a let down game might be imminent, so he pushed us pretty hard.  It was one of the hardest practices of the year by far.

The Eagles of LaCrosse came to town on Wednesday night.  It was a back and forth game.  We finally cracked them midway through the second half, finally pulling away with a final of 82-69.  Jared Jenkins and Evan Sweeney were big off the bench, scoring 17 points each.

Have to get going here...finals week.  What a drag!  I will have the recap of the Elmhurst game in a couple days in between tests and studying.

I have to give a quick shout out to Matt Moses.  Matty was WIAC Player of the Week for Nov. 30-Dec. 6.  During the week he amassed 41 points and 15 rebounds.

Until next time...God Bless and Go Pointers!