Note: In October, 2007, Robert Morris officially forfeited this game to UW-Platteville.
NAIA's #4 bests NCAA III's #20
Robert Morris College held off a furious UW-Platteville rally to win the Pioneer Tip-Off Tournament championship, 77-71, in a battle of nationally ranked teams.
The Eagles, ranked fourth in the NAIA poll, improved to 5-0, while the Pioneers, ranked 20th in the D3Hoops.com poll, fell to 1-1.
Behind some hot three-point shooting, Robert Morris seemingly had the game in hand, leading 73-60 on Freeman Taylor's layup with 2:45 remaining. The Pioneers, however, rattled off 11 straight points to pull within 73-71. Mike Jamerson's jump shot brought the Pioneers nearly all the way back. Taylor, however, made 2-2 free throws with 25.5 seconds left, and James Parker added two more with 10 seconds remaining for the final score.
At one stretch in the second half, the Eagles made seven of nine three-point shots, erasing a three-point Pioneer lead and going ahead 64-55. Aaron Wellington had four of those three-pointers during the run.
The Pioneer post tandem of Mark Gossens and Jeff Skemp earned all-tournament honors for consistent play over both nights. Gossens made 14 of 20 shots and averaged 15.5 points, while Skemp made 11 of 18 shots, scoring 13.5 ppg.
Gossens led the Pioneers with 19 points Saturday, while Skemp had 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists. LeVon Crawford added 14 points, while Jamerson had 12 points and four assists.
Tournament MVP Jerome Harper, who hit the game-winning shot Friday vs. Wash U., had 14 points Saturday. Wellington, a Basketball Times preseason all-American, bounced back from a scoreless Friday to total 20 points in the title game. Parker finished with 15 points, while Taylor added 13.
Also making the all-tournament team were Simpson's Jason Soppe, who scored 27 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Storm to a 96-84 win in the consolation game, and Wash. U.'s Troy Ruths, who had 36 points over two days.
The Pioneers return to Williams Fieldhouse Tuesday to face Edgewood at 7 p.m.
Related Links