Pointers prepare for showdown for first place in WIAC By DON FRIDAY Special to The Gazette The first of a series of showdown games for the UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team takes place on Saturday night at Quandt Fieldhouse. First place in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference will be at stake when the Pointers, ranked No. 16 in this week's Division 3 national poll, take on No. 3 ranked UW-Eau Claire. Game time is 7 p.m. The Pointers' 76-69 win at UW-Whitewater on Wednesday night gave coach Jack Bennett's team a half-game lead over the Blugolds in the WIAC race. The Pointers are 8-1 in league play and 13-3 overall while the Blugolds, who whipped Northland College of Ashland in a non-conference game Wednesday, own respective marks of 7-1 and 15-1. UW-EC, however, needed to go into overtime to edge UW-SP in the first meeting earlier this season at Zorn Arena, 71-68. Both teams are also highly ranked in the NCAA-3 West Region with the Blugolds tied for the No. 1 spot with Buena Vista (Iowa) with St. John's (Minn.) No. 3 and the Pointers No. 4. Pointers 76, UW-Whitewater 69 It was much more difficult the second time around due to a combination of circumstances but the bottom line was what mattered most in this set-up game - a victory. The Pointers, who had routed the freshmen-dominated Warhawks by 43 points in the first meeting, managed to gain a 34-27 halftime lead, increased the margin to 11 points midway through the second half, then turned back a late UW-W rally by converting several free throws down the stretch. Brant Bailey tossed in 26 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead UW-SP, which shot 49 percent from the field (28 of 57) and sank 8 of 18 3-point attempts. The Pointers, however, were just 12 of 21 at the line and lost the rebound battle, 36-29. Also scoring in double digits for UW-SP were Gabe Frank with 16 points, Brent Larson with 13 and Derek Kind with 11. Frank also had six boards, five assists and five steals. Larson had three steals and handed out eight assists. He also nailed three treys while Kind and Frank buried two apiece. Ernest Williams tallied 21 points, Aubrey Lewis-Beyers 14 and Scott Voigt 11 to pace Whitewater. Lewis-Beyers and Mike Hughes had eight rebounds each while Williams and Voigt hit three treys apiece for UW-W, which was 23 of 51 from the field, 6 of 14 from beyond the arc and 17 of 24 at the stripe. The Hawks had more turnovers, 19-13. Pointers 64, UW-River Falls 60 The Pointers, playing at Quandt Fieldhouse last Saturday, dodged a bullet fired by the inspired, upset-minded Falcons (4-4, 10-6) who have taken a number of title contenders to the wire this season. UW-SP trailed at halftime, 32-25, and fell behind by 10 points, 49-39, with 10:54 remaining. Frank's 3-point bomb from the left angle finally brought the Pointers even at 49-49 with 7:48 left but the Falcons refused to fold. Sulie Holman, who tallied 16 points, created the final tie at 60-60 with 52 seconds left when he nailed a jumper. Bailey, who poured in 21 of his game-high 28 points in the second half, made two free throws with 23 seconds showing. The Pointers' defense then forced UW-RF to take an errant, off-balance shot by Holman with time running out. Bailey grabbed the rebound, was fouled and sank two free throws with a second left. Frank added 18 points (11 the second half) for the Pointers, who overcame 16 turnovers and 39 percent shooting from the field by converting 22 of 28 free throws and controlling the boards by a 38-24 margin, led by Bailey who picked 14 off the glass. Bailey went to the line 19 times and was successful on 14. The Falcons' upset bid was led by junior guard Shawn Timm who scored 23 points. All of his 14 shots came from 3-point range and he buried seven. Hockey After an extended break from league competition, the No. 6-ranked Pointers put their Northern Collegiate Hockey Association lead on the line with road games at St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minn. (7:30 p.m.) on Friday and at eighth-ranked UW-Superior (7:05 p.m.) on Saturday. Both games can be heard on Radio Station WW-SP, 90-FM. UW-SP (5-1, 12-5) snapped a two-game losing streak by sweeping a two-game series from Marian College of Fond du Lac, a team coached by former Pointer great Paul Caufield. The Pointers won the first game of the weekend series, 7-1, before 1,120 fans at Willett Arena, then journeyed to Fond du Lac on Saturday and came home with a 5-2 victory. After being held to a 1-1 first period draw by the Sabres Friday night, UW-SP broke the game open with three-goal salvos in the second and third periods. Seven players tallied goals for the Pointers - Mikhail Salienko, Derek Toninato, Bryan Fricke, David Boehm, Joel Marshall, Zenon Kochan and Ryan Maxson. UW-SP goalie Bob Gould stopped all but one of Marian's 18 shots. The Pointers peppered Sabres' goalie C.J. Koroll with 36 shots. At Fond du Lac Saturday, the Pointers surged to a 4-1 lead after the opening period and never looked back. UW-SP out-shot Marian, 32-21, in a rough contest which featured 24 penalties, 15 assessed against the Sabres. Maxson scored two of the Pointers' five goals while Boehm, Nick Glander and Kochan had one apiece. Gould was credited with 19 saves. Women's basketball The Warhawks scored the game's final 13 points to hand UW-SP its third straight defeat, 63-55, in Berg Gym on Wednesday night. The loss dropped the Pointers to 3-6 in the WIAC and 8-8 overall while UW-W improved to respective marks of 4-4 and 10-6. The Pointers surged to an early 15-5 lead but could not maintain the momentum. Whitewater answered with a 15-0 run of its own to grab a 29-25 halftime edge, then used the closing surge over the final 5:03 to seal the victory. Jess Ott, who nailed four 3-point baskets, and sophomore Amie Schultz led UW-SP with 18 points each. Rebounding and free throw shooting were keys to the outcome. The Hawks were 18 of 25 at the line compared to the Pointers' 4 of 9 and controlled the boards by a 42-27 margin. UW-SP shot just 39 percent from the field compared to UW-W's .409, including 9 of 17 from 3-point land. Brenda Brooks tossed in 22 points to lead Whitewater. Vanessa Rieder was a force in the middle with 15 points and 17 rebounds. Kate Lapacek added 13 points. Jessica Granger handed out 11 assists for the Pointers. UW-River Falls 66, Pointers 54 The cold-shooting Pointers fell behind at halftime, 26-17, and could not get closer than eight points in the second half at River Falls last Saturday. UW-SP shot much better in the second half, hitting 13 of 23 attempts, but the host Falcons converted 20 of 28 free throws compared to 14 of 22 by the Pointers and also took advantage of 22 turnovers. Carry Boehning led UW-SP with 16 points and six rebounds. Ott, who hit both of the Pointers' 3-point baskets, added 13 points and Schultz 10. The Pointers travel to first place, nationally-ranked UW-Eau Claire on Saturday at 7 p.m. Swimming UW-SP, back from an extended training session in Hawaii, hosts its annual Get To the Point Invitational at the Multi-Activities Center on Friday and Saturday. Competition each day starts at 9 a.m. with several NCAA Division 2 schools in the field. The Pointer men are ranked No. 2 and the women No. 8 in the first ever "Team Quality Points Index," the only Wisconsin schools rated among the top 20. Denison (Ohio) is ranked No. 1 for both the men and women. The index is a mathematical formula used to help identify the current top teams in the nation. The formula awards points to a team for each official NCAA qualifying time, based on where the time ranks nationally in relation to others. In essence, it scores a mythical national meet based on the current best times in the country. Indoor Track UW-SP landed the inaugural WIAC indoor track and field athletes of the weeks in the WIAC with Mike Mead capturing the men's award and Megan Lundahl earning the women's honor. Mead, a junior from Neenah, turned in an NCAA-3 provisional qualifying performance by clearing 6-8 ¾ in the high jump at the UW-Madison Badger Classic last weekend. He placed third overall and first among collegiate athletes. Lundahl, a junior from Sheboygan, placed in three events at the UW-River Falls Early Bird meet. She was second in both the 20-pound weight throw (13.54 meters) and shot put (11.17m) and fourth in the high jump (1.52m). Other high men's showings for UW-SP included a fourth by Jesse Drake in the 3,000 meters (8:31.27) and a fifth in the same event by Dan Schwamberger (8:36.72). For the women, Leah Juno won the 1,000 meters in 3:02.23 with teammate Erin Dogwillo second in 3:14.64. The two combined to score 18 of the Pointers' 59 points which was good for a sixth place finish in the seven-team meet. St. Thomas (Minn.) was first with 122. Becky Lebak was third in the 1,500 in 5:01.49. The Pointers will host a triangular meet on Saturday at the Multi-Purpose Center at 11 a.m. Alumni athletes will also compete. It will be the first of three consecutive Saturday home outings for UW-SP. Wrestling The Pointers posted their first dual meet win of the season at UW-Oshkosh Wednesday night, 20-13. Winning five of the first six matches, UW-SP opened a 20-4 lead before the Titans (0-3) rallied to win the final three matches. Earning decision wins for the Pointers (1-4) were Jason Kleinschmidt, 9-0, over Luke Madson at 141 pounds; Nathan Preslaski, 19-7, over Matt Fritschel at 157; Bob Weix over Nick Wenger, 5-4, at 165; and Wes Kapping, 20-7, over Kris Karns at 174. Brady Holtz at 133 won by forfeit. Dropping close matches for the Pointers were Eric Schadrie, 9-8, at 197 and Mitch Gehring, 5-3, at 285. UW-SP will host Lawrence University on Saturday at 7 p.m.