Bailey scored 24 of his game-high 32 points after the intermission as the Pointers routed the V-Hawks 79-59 Friday night at Quandt Fieldhouse.

"He can score, there's no doubt about that," UW-SP coach Jack Bennett said of Bailey. "But he didn't do it alone.

"He was getting great passes. We can never forget that it is a team game. He was being set up. We did a better job of spreading the floor and getting the ball to him in the second half."

The success of the Pointer passing game was evident by the fact that nine different players dished out a total of 16 assists.

Bailey, who connected on 12-of-14 free throws in the contest, was joined in double figures by point guard Brent Larson with 10 points for the Pointers, 8-2 on the season.

Luke Maher scored 16 points and Nick Dobbins had 14 for the V-Hawks, who are 9-4.

Viterbo used the inside-outside combination of Dobbins and Maher to jump out to an early advantage. The 6-foot-8 Dobbins scored six straight points in the post and Maher added back-to-back 3-pointers as the V-Hawks got out to a 25-19 lead with just over five minutes left in the half.  Dobbins and Maher each finished the first half with nine points.

But the Pointers were able to right the ship over the remainder of the period to take a 36-31 lead into halftime.

"I was afraid that we were going to have a fatigue factor because we had played some big games and have finals starting," Bennett said.

"For the first 12 or 13 minutes, we really didn't play very well. We had some matchup problems with them early, but we made some changes and things worked out. We were able to stay close and found a way to go ahead at halftime."

Then Bailey took over. The Pointer senior scored 13 of his team's first 19 points of the second half.  Despite Bailey's surge, the V-Hawks managed to keep within striking distance - until Jay Bennett connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Pointers a 12-point bulge, 61-49, with eight and half minutes remaining.  The Pointers then closed the game with an 18-11 run.

"I think Jay's 3-pointers really pried the game open," coach Bennett said.

"I think we took the wind out of their sails when we got up by double digits.   This was a good test for us. Viterbo is a good team and in their league they will win a lot of games.  It's also nice to go into the holiday break with a win."

The Pointers will return to the court Wednesday, Dec. 29, when they face  Edgewood College of Madison as part of the Sentry Classic Tournament at Quandt Fieldhouse.

"This break couldn't come at a better time for us," Bennett said. "We could use some rest and we have a couple of kids that are nicked up and can use the time to recover.  In the past, we have sometimes gone on trips over the holidays, and it is nice to go somewhere warm. But it is also nice to be home for the holidays with your families."