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The crowd was loud, there was a spring in the step of the Platteville players, and the Hillmen had just taken a 24-23 lead over visiting Mineral Point on a rebound basket by 6-foot-9 senior Zach McClain with 5:42 left in the opening half. 

Timeout Mineral Point.

Within the blink of an eye, the Pointers turned the tables on the Hillmen, thanks in large part to a switch from man-to-man defense to a 1-3-1 zone. 

A quick 7-0 scoring spurt, triggered in part by turnovers against the 1-3-1 defense, gave Mineral Point a 30-24 lead and the Pointers didn't cruise the rest of the way but played from ahead until the end in a 78-68 non-league victory Tuesday evening between two teams expected to contend for league titles.

"The 1-3-1 is something we will always go to at times during a game," Mineral Point coach Dan Burreson said. "It's part of our DNA. Man-to-man is our primary defense, but our 1-3-1 is always an option."

Landon Thousand, 6-2, Sr., PG, Mineral Point
Two years ago, Thousand was a wing guard on the Pointers' JV squad. Today, he's the starting point guards for one of the best teams in southwest Wisconsin. Thousand's strong play on both ends of the court helped the Pointers get past Platteville Tuesday. He finished with a team-high 19 points, handled the ball against Platteville's full-court pressure and looked for his teammates off of his penetration toward the basket. At 6-foot-2 and with good physical strength and speed, Thousand is a tough cover for opposing teams. "Landon is the guy who makes us go on the offensive end," Burreson said. "We were very balanced tonight and that's a credit to our ball movement and unselfishness, led in part by Landon. He has a great understanding of the game and put in so much time into becoming a point guard. He's in the gym all the time, and he brings other guys with him to the gym as well." 

With Platteville mounting a bit of a comeback early in the second half, junior Eli Lindsey caught a pass along the right baseline, squared up to the basket and swished a 14-foot jump shot to give Mineral Point a 44-38 lead. It started a 9-0 Pointers' run that gave the visitors the breathing room needed to notch the victory. Lindsey, one of the state's better class of 2025 prospects, finished with 16 points for the Pointers. His versatility on both ends of the court is a huge positive for Mineral Point. "Eli on top of our 1-3-1 zone is a difference maker with his size and length," Burreson said. "Eli can do a lot of different things for us. He can play in the post and on the perimeter. He allows us to use different combinations of players, and he gives us a lot of versatility."

Brady Radtke, 6-3, Sr., F, Mineral Point
Thousand and Lindsey might be the "name" players for Mineral Point, but it's guys like Radtke who make the Pointers special. Although six inches shorter than McClain in the post, Radtke more than held his own thanks to his endless effort and physical play. He was able to make it very difficult for McClain to get openings or post-up with success in the post. Offensively, Radtke contributed 13 points and seemed to be in the right place at the right time for timely baskets near the hoop. "Radtke played a few minutes for us last year, but he's taking on a much bigger role now. He understands his role and stays within himself. He did a heck of a job on defense on there tonight."

"Platteville is a really good team and was hurt a bit tonight with (Garrison) Tashner out. They have good size, can space the floor with good shooters and they mix it up on defense. This was a tough opening test for both teams and I think both teams learned a lot." -- Mineral Point coach Dan Burreson

Platteville's Tashner is out with a collarbone injury sustained during the football season, but coach Mike Huser is hoping to have the valuable 6-foot-1 senior back as soon as next week ... Rangy wing Simon Boebel (6-4) led Platteville in scoring with 19 points and drilled three triples ... Senior Davyn Edge (6-3) added 18 points and junior Lucas Ludlum (6-3) knifed his way to the basket throughout the contest and scored 16 points ... McClain, coming off a jaw injury from football, was held to four points, but his size and effort figure to be pluses for Platteville all winter ... Sophomores Myron Reuter (6-0) and Jauron Blevins (5-6) both showed plenty of quickness and some skill and should be key contributors the next three seasons for Platteville, which went 19-7 a year ago and is the preseason favorite to win the Southwest Wisconsin Conference title ... Mineral Point checked in at No. 3 among Division 4 schools in the initial WSN Coaches Poll released Tuesday.

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