Pioneers win thriller, 66-65
February 15, 2006
Jeff Skemp's two free throws with 15.6 seconds left lifted UW-Platteville to a thrilling 66-65 victory over visiting UW-Stevens Point Wednesday in the season's final game in Williams Fieldhouse.
Skemp rebounded a missed shot and was fouled trying to score on the put-back. He made both free throws for the 66-65 advantage. The Pioneers then forced the Pointers way outside for their final shot, and Khalifa El-Amin's three-point attempt was well off the mark.
The Pioneers improved to 12-11 overall and 7-8 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, while the Pointers fell to 15-9, 10-5.
UWSP, which went into the night still with title aspirations, led 58-53 before the Pioneers' LeVon Crawford scored 10 straight points, including the alley-oop dunk (pictured at right).
The Pioneers held the lead until 28 seconds remained, when Jon Krull scored on a bank shot from the right side, making the count 65-64 for the Pointers. Crawford hard drove to the hoop, but missed his dunk attempt. Skemp grabbed the rebound and was fouled, enabling him to make the game-winning free throws.
Crawford, who along with Clay Dean, was playing his final home game, led all scorers with 20 points. Kyle Tetschlag added 10 points off the Pioneer bench.
Both Steve Hicklin and Pete Rortvedt scored 14 points for the Pointers, who shot 54 percent from the field. Krull added 10 points and six rebounds.
These two teams could see each other again Tuesday in the first round of the WIAC playoffs. The Pointers close with UW-Superior, while the Pioneers travel to UW-Oshkosh Saturday. UW-Stevens Point is currently tied for third place, while the Pioneers are in sixth in the league standings. The final playoff pairings will be determined after Saturday's games.
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