2005 Division III men's basketball tournament

The Pointers celebrate the 2005 title.

Wisconsin-Stevens Point (29-3) outscored the University of Rochester (25-5) 45-24 in the second half to earn the Pointers their second consecutive NCAA Division III men's basketball championship at the Salem Civic Center.

The opening half went back and forth as the lead changed hands twice, and was tied on seven occassions. UW-Stevens Point used an 8-2 run to take a 13-7 lead with 11:37 remaining in the first half, but Rochester countered with an 8-0 run to take a 15-13 lead at the 9:02 mark -- the last time they would lead the game. Kyle Grusczynski's breakaway dunk thirty seconds later tied the game at 15-15.

Jason Kalsow, the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, hit a three-pointer to give the Pointers a short-lived lead, as Rochester's Brendan McAllister matched it with a three-pointer of his own to tie the game at 20-20. Tim Brackney's three-point attempt rimmed out at the buzzer and kept the Yellowjackets at bay, down just three points, 28-25, heading into halftime.

Kalsow opened up the second half with a three-pointer to extend the lead to six. Nick Bennett followed suite hitting a three with 17:11 remaining to give the Pointers their first double-digit lead of the game, 40-30. The Pointers would then go into a zone defense, and after Gabe Perez hit a 19-foot jumper with 14:29 left, Rochester would not score another field goal for the next five minutes. By that time, the lead had increased to 18 points, 57-39. That was the closest the Yellow Jackets would get the rest of the way.

UW-Stevens Point, which shot 56 percent on 27-of-48 shooting on the game, was led by Jason Krull who scored 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Nick Bennett added 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor, and 4-of-6 from the three-point line, while Kalsow was the only other Pointer in double figures with 15 points. Jon Onyiriuka led Rochester in scoring with 14 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. Rochester managed to shoot just 32.6 percent (15-of-46) for the game, and committed twice as many turnovers (10) as the Pointers.

 

2005 Tournament Coverage

   Final Four recap: Pointers best ever?

   Sectional previews:
   Albion      Amherst     Ramapo    UW-SP

Championship
UW-Stevens Point 73, Rochester 49

at Salem, Va.

All-Tournament Team
Jason Kalsow, UW-Stevens Point (Most Outstanding Player)
Nick Bennett, UW-Stevens Point
Jon Krull, UW-Stevens Point
Seth Hauben, Rochester
Joel Hoekstra, Calvin

Third-Place Game
Calvin 98, York (Pa.) 84

National Semifinals
Rochester 65, Calvin 62
UW-Stevens Point 81, York (Pa.) 58

Sectional championships
York (Pa.) 70, King's 58
Rochester 67, Potsdam State 51
Calvin 60, Albion 52
UW-Stevens Point 61, Trinity (Texas) 55

First Round
March 3
Second Round
March 5
Sectionals at
Wis.-Stevens Point
March 11-12
at 5. Hanover 69
10. Blackburn 49
at 2. Illinois Wesleyan 76
5. Hanover 81
5. Hanover 65 (OT)
4. Trinity (Texas) 73
at 4. Trinity (Texas) 72
12. Texas-Dallas 66
vs. 9. Pomona-Pitzer 53
at 4. Trinity (Texas) 65

11. Edgewood 74
at 6. Buena Vista 91

at 1. Puget Sound 85
6. Buena Vista 82
1. Puget Sound 63
3. Wis.-Stevens Point 81
8. Lawrence 70
at 7. Gustavus Adolphus 56
at 3. Wis.-Stevens Point 79
8. Lawrence 45
First Round Second Round Sectionals at Ramapo
10. NYC Tech 68
at 8. Ursinus 66
at 1. Ramapo 105
10. NYC Tech 80
1. Ramapo 78
4. King's 85
11. Mt. St. Mary 84
at 5. Albright 94
at 4. King's 57
5. Albright 55
9. Endicott 62
at 7. Western Connecticut 73
at 3. Worcester Polytech 79
7. Western Connecticut 77
3. Worcester Polytech 80
2. York (Pa.) 99
12. New Jersey City 57
at 6. Virginia Wesleyan 76
at 2. York (Pa.) 90
6. Virginia Wesleyan 80
First Round Second Round Sectionals at Amherst
10. Norwich 56
at 5. Springfield 71
at 2. Amherst 81
5. Springfield 68
2. Amherst 62
3. Rochester 69
12. Union 84
at 6. Gwynedd-Mercy 70
at 3. Rochester 79
12. Union 61
11. Elms 71
at 7. Salem State 74
at 4. Potsdam State 74
7. Salem State 73
4. Potsdam State 67
1. St. John Fisher 43
9. Penn State-Behrend 53
at 8. Lebanon Valley 71
at 1. St. John Fisher 66
8. Lebanon Valley 58
First Round Second Round Sectionals at Albion
10. Bethany 48
at 8. John Carroll 76
at 1. Wittenberg 68 (2 OT)
8. John Carroll 75
8. John Carroll 79
3. Albion 80
11. Baldwin-Wallace 78
at 4. Wooster 94
at 3. Albion 59
4. Wooster 58
9. Calvin 75
at 6. Wheaton (Ill.) 74
at 2. Aurora 59
9. Calvin 71
9. Calvin 75
7. Mississippi College 60
12. Methodist 54
at 5. Maryville (Tenn.) 69
7. Mississippi College 68
at 5. Maryville (Tenn.) 62

These brackets were seeded by D3hoops.com using the selection and ranking criteria. The NCAA does not release its seedings of these brackets.