Pointers teach Warhawk freshmen a lesson in WIAC opener By DON FRIDAY Special to The Gazette UW-Whitewater's freshmen-dominated men's basketball team got an education about life in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference here on Wednesday night. UW-Stevens Point, dominating every aspect of the game except free throws, handed the youthful Warhawks a 94-51 trouncing before 1,105 fans at Quandt Fieldhouse. It was the WIAC opener for both teams and left the Pointers 5-1 and Whitewater 3-1. It was all but over by halftime as UW-SP surged to a 55-20 advantage. Despite liberal use of all 15 available players by coach Jack Bennett, the Pointers continued to add to their margin before finally settling for the 43-point victory. The Pointers shot 55 percent from the field (38 of 69), drained 9 of 19 shots from beyond the arc, dominated the boards by a 44-35 margin and posted a telling 23-6 advantage in assists. The Warhawks, who started four freshmen and used four other yearlings extensively, also turned the ball over 23 times against the Pointers' relentless pressure. UW-W, which made only five of 18 second-half shots, did most of its scoring at the foul line, hitting 24 of 36, including 21 of 25 after the intermission. Ten UW-SP players broke into the scoring column, led by promising 6-8 freshman Josh Iserloth who tallied 19 points and came down with eight rebounds in 18 minutes. Also in double digits were Brant Bailey with 16 points, Gabe Frank with 15 and freshman Derek Kind with 11. Making the whole show go was junior lead guard Brent Larson who contributed seven points and a game high eight assists. Joe Zuiker chipped in six points and eight boards. The Pointers got to the line for just 11 attempts. Defense carried the day for the Pointers in two victories in the inaugural WIAC-Lake Michigan Conference Challenge in Madison last weekend. Despite shooting an anemic 28 percent from the field, the Pointers managed to defeat host Edgewood College on Saturday night, 47-38, limiting the Eagles to 23 percent shooting and a paltry 10 points in the second half. The Pointer offense was back in synch on Sunday afternoon in a 68-46 rout of Marian College of Fond du Lac which had taken UW-Oshkosh into double overtime before losing on Saturday. Bailey had 13 points and eight rebounds in the win over Edgewood, which will also be the Pointers' opponent in the upcoming Sentry Holiday Classic here on Dec. 29. Zuiker pulled down 18 rebounds as UW-SP commanded the boards, 55-33. Frank contributed 10 points and five rebounds. Bailey poured in 19 points and grabbed six rebounds in the win over Marian College. His length of the court drive and thunderous slam dunk in a defender's face as time expired gave the Pointers a 33-22 halftime lead. Larson added nine points and Zuiker, who also grabbed eight rebounds, and Frank eight apiece. The Pointers shot 48 percent and controlled the boards, 38-22. The Pointers, who are now 8-1 in the series with Edgewood and 8-0 against Marian, travel to Zorn Arena on Saturday for an early season showdown against title contender UW-Eau Claire (7 p.m., WIZD, 99.9 FM). Bailey, who had 62 points in three games, including a career high 30 against Lawrence University, was named UW-SP player of the week. He also pulled down 19 rebounds in the three games and had a career best four assists against Lawrence. Women's Basketball It was a tough week for the Pointers who not only dropped a 55-49 non-conference decision to Wisconsin Lutheran College of Milwaukee on Saturday afternoon and a 66-57 decision in the WIAC opener at Whitewater Wednesday night, but also lost starting post player Kari Groshek for the season with a knee injury suffered in practice on Tuesday. Groshek, a 6-0 junior from Rosholt who started 45 games during her first two years on the team, tore her anterior cruciate ligament in the practice mishap. Against the Warhawks, UW-SP opened a six-point halftime lead and still led, 51-46, with seven minutes left. Whitewater, however, went on an 11-0 run and the Pointers could not rally down the stretch. Carry Boehning led UW-SP with 14 points and eight rebounds while Jessica Ott added 11 points. Freshman lead guard Jessica Granger made her first collegiate start and contributed 10 points and four assists. The Pointers shot just 31.7 percent, including 0 for 11 from 3-point range and lost the rebound battle, 41-35. In the loss to Lutheran, the Pointers held a 38-32 with 10:56 remaining, only to see the Vikings go on an 18-3 run which broke the game open. UW-SP, which shot just 27 percent (20 of 73) was led by Ott and sophomore forward Amie Schultz with 14 points each. Schultz, a 6-0 sophomore from Appleton (East), was named Pointer player of the week after hitting seven of 14 shots and grabbing five rebounds against Lutheran. Ott, who did all her scoring in the second half, became the Pointers' all-time three-point field goal leader. Her second-half trey, the Pointers' only 3-pointer of the game, gave her a career total of 170, eclipsing the record held by Kate Peterson (1987-1991). The Pointers, 0-1 in the WIAC and 1-3 overall, will host traditional WIAC and national power UW-Eau Claire at 3 p.m. Saturday in Berg Gym. Hockey After being idle last week, the Pointers face a challenging week, highlighted by a weekend trip to Vermont for games against national powers Middlebury College (3-1) at 6 p.m. on Friday and Norwich College (3-1) at 5 p.m. on Saturday. Both games will be broadcast by WWSP, 90 FM. The first place Pointers, who routed Lake Forest (Ill.), 6-1, on the road Tuesday night, improved to 5-1 in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Conference and 8-1 over-all with a seven-game winning streak. UW-SP has moved up to No. 3 in the latest NCAA Division 3 national poll compiled by U.S. College Hockey Online. Middlebury, ranked No. 2 in the national poll, edged the Pointers, 2-1, in the national championship game in 1998. Friday's match-up will be just the second ever between the schools. Middlebury coach Bill Beaney has won more national championships (5) than any other Division 3 coach and owns a 335-163-14 record in his 21st season at the school. The Panthers' only loss came at the hands of No. 1 ranked Plattsburgh (N.Y.) State, 6-3, last Saturday in the title game of the Plattsburgh tournament. Middlebury beat Norwich, 3-1, in the semifinals of the tourney. Norwich, ranked No. 5 this week, has never played the Pointers. Coach Mike McShane is in his fifth season with the Cadets and 19th overall. He spent five years at Division I St. Lawrence and nine years at Providence. He needs seven wins to reach 300 for his career. Six different Pointers scored goals as UW-SP dumped host Lake Forest Tuesday, 6-1. The Pointers jumped to a 4-0 lead after the first period and Dave Cinelli saved 31 shots in goal for UW-SP. At Lake Forest, the Pointers opened a 4-0 first period lead and never looked back. Scoring goals were former SPASH standout Craig Busse, David Boehm, Troy Michalski, Jeff Marshall, D.J. Drayna and Mikhail Salienko. Sophomore Dave Cinelli stopped 31 of 32 shots in the UW-SP net. Football UW-Stevens Point senior defensive end Mark Fetzer has been selected to play in the Aztec Bowl, an NCAA Division 3 All-Star Game, in Mexico City on Saturday, Dec. 18. The 6-3, 240-pound Fetzer becomes the second Pointer in as many years to earn a berth in the contest. Last year, linebacker Clint Kriewaldt was named the most valuable defensive player in the game which is sponsored by the American Football Coaches Association. Kriewaldt is now a linebacker and special teams standout for the NFL Detroit Lions. A Neenah native, Fetzer is one of 40 Division 3 players who will spend a week practicing in Mexico under former Central (Iowa) coach Ron Schipper. The collegians will take on an all-star team from Mexico's top league from the Liga Mayor Conference at Polytechnic University Stadium. Fetzer, an all-WIAC selection, will be joined by two other players from the conference, Brock Ryan of UW-La Crosse and Joe Green of UW-River Falls. Fetzer led UW-SP with six sacks this season and ranks second in school history all-time in that category with 24. He also had 43 tackles this season, including 13 for losses adding up to 72 yards. Fetzer helped lead the Pointers to a second straight WIAC championship, a berth in the NCAA Division 3 playoffs and a 9-2 overall record. Wrestling Winning just three matches, UW-SP dropped its WIAC opener to La Crosse on Wednesday night, 37-9, in Berg Gym. The only Pointer wins came from Darren Dummer, 7-3, at 133 pounds; Nathan Preslaski, 10-5, at 157; and Joe Bavlnka, 3-2, at 184. The Pointers (0-2 overall) will competed in the UW-Parkside Invitational on Saturday. Sears Cup UW-Stevens Point is ranked No. 7 in the first publication of the Division 3 Sears Director's Cup standings. The standings include women's soccer, men's and women's cross country and field hockey. The Pointers qualified for the NCAA tourney in soccer but lost in the first round to the University of Chicago. UW-SP was also sixth (men) and 11th (women) in cross country to accumulate 149.5 points. UW-La Crosse is ranked sixth with 151 points, UW-Whitewater 11th and UW-Oshkosh 23rd. College of New Jersey, which won the field hockey title, is the early leader with 231 points. UW-SP will gain in the next edition of the standings by virtue of qualifying for the NCAA football playoffs.