Big second half lifts Pioneers

By Paul Erickson, Sports Information Director

UW-Platteville outscored Clarke 41-17 to beat the Crusaders 65-50 Saturday night on Bo Ryan Court.

The Pioneers trailed 33-24 at the break, then used a 25-5 run to open the second half.

"We challenged ourselves personally and were challenged by the coaches," said junior Jeff Skemp. "What we were getting beat on was rebounding and hustle plays, and that is Pioneer basketball. In the second half we got to the boards and got to the loose balls. It swung the game for us. We were a lot more aggressive and played with a lot more fire. I think the biggest thing is we're afraid of letting each other down."

Just like the University of Dubuque had a hard time keeping Skemp down Thursday, Clarke struggled to contain the 6-10 center. Skemp made finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and four blocks. He made seven of eight from the field, giving him a shooting percentage of 88.2 (15-17).

"My teammates kept coming up at timeouts and saying 'we're feeding you the ball, we're feeding you the ball,' " he said. "It was the same thing at Dubuque. We've worked hard this week on positioning and making strong moves to the hoop, and that really paid off."

Both Curt Hanson and Josh Langenfeld added 12 points, and Charlie Lohoff had five assists and held Clarke's DeMonte Bynum to 2-11 from the field. Michael Okpalaeze came off the bench to score 16 for the Crusaders, who fell to 4-6.

The Pioneers take a 7-2 record into the holiday break. UWP plays two strong clubs in San Diego, NAIA powerhouse Point Loma Nazarene Dec. 29 and NCAA III club George Fox New Year's Eve.

"This was huge," Skemp said. "Last year we lost to Robert Morris-Springfield before the break, and it was not a fun break. We were down on ourselves. Now we have 14 days before playing in San Diego, which will be a good trip. We're on a high note now, and it feels good."

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