Pioneers end UW-Stevens Point's win streak
January 18, 2006
Paybacks are sweet, no matter how long they take.
UW-Platteville beat UW-Stevens Point 70-66 Wednesday, breaking the Pointers' 28-game home winning streak. The two-time defending national champions had not lost in Quandt Fieldhouse since a 61-52 setback to UW-Superior on Feb. 21, 2004.
The game avenged a Jan. 8, 2000 UWSP win at Williams Fieldhouse, when the Pioneers were coming off two national championships and had their 96-game regular season home streak stopped.
Charlie Lohoff's three-point basket with 13 seconds to play gave the Pioneers the lead for good at 68-66. After the Pointers missed a shot, LeVon Crawford nailed down the win with two free throws with under a second to play for the final 70-66 score.
The Pioneers improved to 9-7 overall and 4-4 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, while the Pointers fell to 11-5, 6-2.
In the first matchup of last season's conference co-champions, the Pioneers used a 17-0 run to take a 30-17 first-half lead. The Pointers narrowed the gap to 42-38 by the break but could not catch up until taking their first lead at 63-62 with 3:06 remaining.
Sean Krause made three of four free throws for a 65-64 Pioneer advantage, but UWSP's Jon Krull scored in the paint for a 66-65 Pointer lead with 1:34 remaining. Nobody scored until the freshman Lohoff stepped up and drained the game-winning three-pointer with 13 seconds to play.
Krause led the Pioneers with 16 points, while Jeff Skemp had 15 points and eight rebounds, and Crawford totalled 14 points and nine rebounds. The Pioneers held a 34-15 rebounding advantage and allowed the Pointers just two offensive boards.
Brian Bauer and Steve Hicklin each scored 14 for the Pointers, while Pete Rortvedt had 13 and Krull 10.
The Pioneers begin the second half of the WIAC season by hosting UW-Stout Saturday at 3 p.m. or 30 minutes after the conclusion of the women's game.
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