Defense steals show for Pioneers
November 18, 2005
While UW-Platteville celebrated its 2004-05 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship by unveiling the banner in Williams Fieldhouse Friday, the current Pioneers literally stole the show.
The Pioneers made 14 steals and forced 23 Simpson turnovers while beating the Storm 73-43 in the second game of the Pioneer Tip-Off Tournament.
UWP will advance to face Robert Morris of Chicago in Saturday's championship game. The Eagles, ranked fourth in the NAIA poll, beat Washington (Mo.) 76-73 on Jerome Harper's three-point basket with 1.4 seconds remaining.
The Pioneers made steals on four of Simpson's first five possessions, including three by Mike Jamerson, and raced off to a 9-2 lead. UWP, ranked 20th in the D3hoops.com poll, led 34-19 at the half and cruised to the opening win.
Jamerson, a transfer from Rockford College, made 5-6 shots and finished with 12 points, three assists and five steals. Mark Gossens also had 12 points, while LeVon Crawford and Jeff Skemp each had 10.
Ryan Hittenmiller scored 10 points to lead the Storm, who will face Wash U. at 5 p.m. Saturday. The title game follows at 7 p.m.
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