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SALEM, Va.-Leaving Quandt Fieldhouse for the first time this NCAA Tournament and traveling 960 miles did nothing to cool the Pointers as they defeated Randolph-Macon 72-60 in the national semi-final game at the Salem Civic Center.



Off the opening tip, the Pointers defense took control, forcing a turnover and Jared Jenkins converted on a three pointer on the other end to open the scoring.



UWSP kept up the pressure and went on a 16-3 run over the first 5:14 and built a 22 point edge, 33-11 at the 4:57 mark of the opening stanza. As the first half wore on the Pointers defense kept the Yellowjackets on their heels, holding RMC to 28 percent shooting and forced nine turnovers during the first half. At the end of the first half the Pointers had a 38-19 advantage, led by eight points by Louis Hurd and five rebounds by both Nick Krull and Scott Hoelzel.



In the second half the Yellowjackets started to gradually chip away the Pointer lead. With three minutes remaining the Pointer lead was down to eight, 59-51.



With 2:15 remaining, a Krull steal and Jenkins lay-up gave momentum back to UWSP pushing the lead back to double digits. Late clutch free-throws by Matt Moses and Jerrel Harris sealed the Pointer win with a final of 72-60.



Jenkins led four Pointers scoring in double figures, scoring a game-high 17. Hurd chipped in 14 points while Moses and Harris each added 11. Hoelzel finished with a game-high nine rebounds.



Randolph-Macon was led by Adam Desgain's 14, all off the bench.



With the win UW-Stevens (28-4) will advance to the NCAA Division III National Championship game. In the other semi-final the Ephs of Williams College defeated Guilford 97-88, earning a spot in the National Championship game.



The last time that Williams and UWSP met was in the 2004 National Title game, a game UWSP won 84-82 to capture the first of back-to-back championships.



Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. EST in the Salem Civic Center, Salem, Virginia. The game will be broadcast live throughout Central Wisconsin on B104.9 and streamed live on the web at www.b1049.com.



The game will be shown on CBS College Sports, and online at NCAA.com. Follow this link and then click on the game between UW-Stevens Point and Williams in the bracket. A window will come up where you can click to watch.



Information from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point athletic department and NCAA.com was used in this article.