Men's hoops top Viterbo; women cagers head to Florida By DON FRIDAY Special to The Gazette The pre-holiday portion of the schedule for the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point men's basketball team ended on a bright note at Quandt Fieldhouse last Friday. Spoiling the homecoming of former UW-SP assistant coach Wayne Wagner, who is in his first season as mentor at La Crosse's Viterbo College, the Pointers broke open a close game midway through the second half and went on to hand the V-Hawks a 79-59 defeat. The non-conference win enabled UW-SP to enter final exams with an 8-2 overall record. Viterbo dropped to 9-4. The Pointers will meet Edgewood College of Madison for the second time this season in the Sentry Holiday Classic at Quandt on Wednesday, Dec. 29, at 9 p.m., then return to WIAC action with critical road tests at UW-Oshkosh on Jan. 5 and UW-Platteville on Jan. 8. After trailing by as many as seven points in the early going, the Pointers used a late surge to open a 36-31 halftime advantage. Viterbo stayed within range for the first 10 minutes of the second half until Jay Bennett came off the bench to drain a pair of 3-point bombs, the second of which gave UW-SP a 61-49 lead with 8:36 remaining. The V-Hawks never recovered. Turning in his second straight 30-plus scoring effort, 6-7 senior Brant Bailey poured in 32 points, 24 of which came in the second half, to lead the Pointer victory. He scored his team's first nine points and 11 in a row during another second half stretch. Bailey's exploits, which also included seven rebounds, enabled him to win the WIAC basketball player of the week award for the third time in four weeks. Bailey, however, had plenty of support from point guard Brent Larson who scored 10 points, senior forward Gabe Frank who added nine and redshirt freshman off guard Derek Kind who chipped in eight. The Pointers shot a so-so 43 percent from the field but connected on 11 of 26 attempts from beyond the arc, compared to just 6 of 18 by Viterbo. UW-SP also had a 30-29 rebounding edge and turned the ball over just seven times while pressuring the V-Hawks into 18 errors. The Pointers' passing game resulted in a 16-9 margin in assists. Women's Basketball Running their winning steak to four, the Pointer women used a late surge to turn back Edgewood College, 64-58, in a non-conference game in Madison on Dec. 15. The victory enabled coach Shirley Egner's team to improve its season record to 5-4 while the Eagles dropped to 5-3. The Pointers will spend a portion of their holiday period in the warmer climate of the Sunshine State. Competing in the Land of Magic Classic at Daytona Beach Florida, UW-SP will take on John Hopkins (Md.) University on Tuesday, Dec. 28 and Clark (Mass.) College on Wednesday, Dec. 29, both at 10 a.m. The Pointers will then return to WIAC competition with home games against UW-Oshkosh on Jan. 5 at 7 p.m. and UW-Platteville on Jan. 8 at 3 p.m. A career game by Carry Boehning and clutch play in the final 2:30 by Jessica Ott keyed the Pointer victory at Edgewood. Boehning, a 6-0 sophomore from Auburndale, poured in a career high 28 points and also pulled down 12 rebounds. Ott, a 5-5 senior All-America candidate from New Glarus, added 15 points and five boards. Ott's back-to-back 3-point baskets, the first at 2:09 and the second at 1:45, enabled UW-SP to expand a shaky 53-49 lead into 59-51 control. Freshman lead guard Jessica Granger handed out seven assists for UW-SP which shot 41 percent from the field, had a 5-2 edge in 3-point baskets and sank 9 of 11 free throws. UW-SP, which had 26 turnovers, compensated somewhat with a 44-35 rebounding advantage. Boehning's heroics enabled her to earn the WIAC basketball player of the week award. She also had nine points and seven boards earlier in the week in a win at Lawrence University. Football UW-Stevens Point senior defensive back Andy Palzkill recently was named to the All-America first team by the Football Gazette. A Mineral Point native, Palszill was earlier named second team All-America by Hewlett-Packard. After serving as a backup quarterback his first three years at UW-SP (one as a redshirt), Palzkill moved into the secondary as a junior, playing mainly in nickel and dime packages. His only interception resulted in a 97-yard touchdown return against UW-Stout, helping the Pointers to an easy win which clinched a share of the WIAC championship. This season, however, Palzkill ranked seventh in NCAA Division 3 with a school record nine interceptions as the Pointers finished 9-2, won a share of the league crown for the second straight year and landed a spot in the post-season playoffs. Palzkill, who was also fifth on the team with 51 tackles (38 solos), is only the 12th player in school history to earn first team All-America honors. He was also the only WIAC player to be named to the first, second or third team All-America teams by both Football Gazette and Hewlett-Packard. Palzkill's success wasn't confined to the gridiron. His 3.92 grade point average resulted in the sociology major being named a second team Academic All-American. "I never expected any of this," Palzkill said. "I wasn't the best athlete. There are a lot of guys on our team who were bigger and stronger than me. I just tried to learn football more than anything. I always thought I could play and start at this level." Palzkill's post-season honors were well deserved, said UW-SP coach John Miech. "Most of Andy's success came because he is an intelligent player," Miech said. "It didn't take him long to learn our defensive coverages after he moved over from offense." Other recent UW-SP players named first team All-America by Football Gazette included defensive back Randy Simpson in 1994 and linebacker Clint Kriewaldt, currently with the NFL Detroit Lions, in 1997 and 1998. * * * Also on the Pointer football scene, senior defensive end Mark Fetzer had 2.5 sacks and five tackles to help the U.S. squad post a 44-13 victory over a team of Mexican All-Stars in the 1999 Aztec Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 18, in Mexico City. The 6-3, 245-pound Fetzer, who was a first team all-WIAC selection this season, was one of 40 Division 3 players who were chosen to participate in the all-star game, played in front of 12,000 at Wilfrido Massieu Stadium. A year ago, Kreiwaldt's standout play in the Aztec Bowl was a key factor in the U.S. team's victory.