Front Row L to R: Michael Vitt, Brady Franz, Reese Gaber and Travis Johnson; back row L-R: Coach Brian Bergquist, Elliot Eron, Braden Christophersen, Gage Haack, Teagan Kirsenlohr, Joe Bergquist, Coach John Gaber and Coach Shane Christophersen; not present: Brett Ehr. (Contributed photo)

Special Submission to the City-Times by Shane Christopherson

On Saturday February 22nd the Stevens Point Red 7th grade basketball team travelled to Poynette, WI to play against teams they had never played before.  After 4 hard- fought games- that were much closer than the scores reflect- Stevens Point came out on top as tournament champs.

Game 1 was a match up with Omro Gold. After a relatively slow start that saw both teams “feeling out” the other Stevens Point was able to come alive and pull away for an emphatic win. Joe Bergquist led the team with 14 points, Reese Gaber was a close 2nd with 12 and both Gage Haack and Teagan Kirsenlohr chipped in 8 points apiece.  Everyone on the team scored and contributed in a big way.

In Game 2 Stevens Point faced a tough Wautoma team that had 3 good scoring options and a very solid team.  It was a tight game the whole way.  Stevens Point led 23 -16 at the half and hung on for the 42 – 37 win even though Wautoma heated up and hit 4 3 pointers down the stretch.  Braden Christophersen paced Stevens Point with 17 points and 8 rebounds.  Joe Bergquist added another 10 and Travis Johnson put down 6 points.

Game 3 matched Stevens Point against a Lodi team that also featured a strong triple threat of players and an excellent supporting cast.  The first half remained a pretty close contest with Stevens Point leading the way at 10-7 after 1 and 19-11 at the half.  The 3rd and 4th quarters saw Stevens Point impose their will on Lodi and open up the game for a final of 56-36.  Christophersen led all scorers with 17, Gaber chipped in 8 and Elliot Eron added 7 points and 10 rebounds.

Stevens Point faced host, Poynette in the Championship game.  Poynette was led by a 6’4” center #23 that led all scorers with 19 points.  Point jumped out to a 14 – 7 lead after 1 but Poynette pounded the ball inside and took advantage of some Foul Trouble to close the gap to 23-19 at the half.  In the 2nd half Stevens Point took charge with excellent defense and held Poynette to just 9 total 2nd half points for a 45-28 win and the Championship.  Strong defensive performances were turned in by Michael Vitt and Brady Franz.  Bergquist led the scoring with 10 followed by Christophersen with 8 and Johnson and Haack with 6 each.

Stevens Point Red heads to LaCrosse on March 8th and 9th for a very tough tournament featuring some of the top 10 teams in the Great Northwest as well as some excellent teams from Minnesota.