Pointers knock off River Falls, tie for first place The Pointers men's basketball team moved into a tie for first place in the WIAC with UW-River Falls, defeating the Falcons, 74-59, Wednesday at the Quandt Fieldhouse. River Falls held a 33-23 halftime lead, but the Pointers scored the first 10 points of the second half and went on a 20-5 run to open the half. Joe Zuiker (Port Edwards) tied four other players in UW-SP history by shooting a school-record nine-for-nine from the field. He scored 14 of the Pointers' 23 first-half points and finished with a career high 20 points. Josh Iserloth added 13 points, Jay Bennett 11 and Kalonji Kadima 10. The Pointers are now 4-2 in the WIAC and 12-2 overall and travel to UW-Oshkosh for a 3 p.m. game on Saturday, Jan. 13. The Pointers recorded a key win Saturday night at UW-Platteville for the second straight year and the third time in five seasons, with a 71-59 victory. Zuiker had 16 points as the Pointers led 40-38 at the half and never trailed in the second half. The Pointers were ranked third in the Division III rankings, while UW-Platteville was ranked 16th. Women's Basketball The Pointers fell to UW-River Falls, 70-66, on Wednesday night, ending a four-game winning streak. The Pointers led 35-29 at the end of the first half, and the game was tied 64-64 with one minute left, when River Falls scored the next six points of the game. The game was tied nine times in the second half and 15 times overall. River Falls made its last 12 free throw attempts, including 6-for-6 shooting in the final 1:27. Carry Boehning (Auburndale) led the Pointers with 17 points, Kari Groshek (Rosholt) chipped in with 13 and Amie Schultz (Appleton East) had 10. The Pointers had been ranked 21st in the Division III poll, and the loss puts their record at 3-3 in the WIAC and 11-3 overall. They host first place UW-Oshkosh at 3 p.m. Saturday in Berg Gym. The Pointers' 11-2 overall record before the River Falls game was the team's best record after 13 games since 1986-87, when the Pointers went on to win the national championship. The Pointers had moved into fourth place with a 76-61 win over UW-Platteville last week. Carry Boehning (Auburndale) keyed the win over UW-Platteville with 26 points and 12 rebounds. The Pointers opened up a 40-23 halftime lead and the Pioneers came no closer than eight points the rest of the way. Schmitt added 15 points for the Pointers. Men's Hockey The Pointers begin a stretch of 11 straight NCHA games to conclude the season by taking on St. Norbert this weekend in a home-and-home series. UW-Stevens Point was picked to win the NCHA this season, while St. Norbert was predicted second. Friday's game is in Stevens Point at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday's game will be in Green Bay at 7:05 p.m. UW-Stevens Point is coming off a weekend sweep of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opponents, beating St. Thomas, 4-2, and St. Mary's, 6-4. The Pointers finished 5-1 against MIAC teams this season. The Pointers are 10-4 overall and 2-1 in the NCHA. Eight different players scored the team's 10 goals last weekend with Ryan Maxson (Bloomington, Minn.) scoring in each game and Zenon Kochan (Madison) scoring twice against St. Mary's. The Pointers scored four second-period goals to rally from a 2-0 deficit against St. Thomas as Mike Slobodnik (Kentwood, Mich.) scored the game-winner. UW-SP rallied from a 3-1 deficit on Saturday as David Boehm (Eau Claire) scored the game-winner with 1:21 left and also added two assists. Women's Hockey The Pointers split a pair of games in Minnesota, losing to College of St. Benedict, 3-2, on Monday and defeating St. Olaf, 8-2, on Tuesday. They return home for a pair of NCHA games with second place UW-River Falls at 5:05 p.m. Friday and 8:05 p.m. Saturday at Willett Arena. The Pointers are in third place in the NCHA, while UW-River Falls is ranked ninth in the NCAA Division III. The Pointers are 6-5-1 overall and 3-2-1 in the NCHA. Mandy Rhyner and Brenda Smelser scored the goals for the Pointers against St. Benedict, with Naomi Morris assisting on Smelser's goal. The Pointers jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first period against St. Olaf. Becky Humphreys scored three goals and Julie Rochford had two. Nicole Busse assisted on four of the goals and Jessica Barrick on two. Swimming And Diving The swimmers conclude their two-week trip to Hawaii this week by competing in the Rainbow Classic. The Pointer men are ranked fourth in the country and the women are ranked eighth. Both are 4-0 in dual meets. Wrestling The wrestlers are nearing the end of a three-week break, returning to action with a WIAC dual meet against UW-Oshkosh on Jan. 17, at Berg Gym. The Pointers were ranked 10th in the latest Division III poll and are 4-3 overall and 1-1 in the WIAC in dual meets. Track The Pointers men's track team opens its season at the UW-Madison Invitational Saturday, while the women's team opens its season on Friday, Jan. 19, at the UW-River Falls Invite.