Pioneers rout Loras, 89-51
November 22, 2008
By UWP Sports Information Director Paul Erickson
Behind a devastating first half, UW-Platteville routed Loras 89-51 to win the Pioneer Ford/Tricor Insurance Tip-Off Classic Saturday night on Bo Ryan Court.
The Pioneers shot 19-25 from the field (76 percent), 7-9 from three-point land (77.8 percent) and 11-11 from the line while building a 56-21 halftime advantage.
The Duhawks are the defending Iowa Conference tournament champions who knocked UW-Whitewater from last year's NCAA III tournament. The Pioneers are ranked seventh in the D3hoops.com poll.
"We knew that we would get a good effort from them, and we wanted to come out and match and succeed that," said tournament MVP Jeff Skemp. "We came out of the gates ready to go and playing hard."
The Pioneers scored the first seven points and had a 10-point lead already seven minutes in at 18-8. The margin hit 20 at 37-16 and 30 at 51-19 before the Pioneers took a 35-point lead into the locker room.
"One thing we charted was points off of (defensive) stops, and we scored 38 points off of stops in the first half," Skemp said. "It shows that A, we're playing good defense, and B, we're scoring off the stops."
The Pioneers' effort was so dominating that Skemp sat the final 16:44. When he exited the game, he had 23 points, matching Loras' total in a 64-23 game.
Skemp made 7-11 from the field and all nine free throws for his 23 points.
"Our game plan was to take what they gave us, and with our great shooters on the outside, and good post player with Kyle (Tetschlag), Eric (Wall) and myself, it's a pick-your-poison type of thing," the all-American said. "Last night, Mike Shaw shot the ball well and it opened up the post. Tonight, I think they were keying in on the shooters a little more, and it opened up the post."
When the Duhawks did try and double Skemp, he was able to find the open shooter, as he recorded five assists. Curt Hanson knocked down all four of this three-point attempts, finishing with 20 points and joining Skemp on the all-tournament team.
Wall came off the bench to score 15 points, and reserve post player Alex Bondar had 10 as the Pioneers improved to 3-0.
"We were talking on the bench that it's been pretty unique to let our young players play as many minutes as they have," Skemp said. "That's a great tribute to them because they do a great job on scout team getting us ready for each and every game."
Rick Kolze scored 11 points for the Duhawks, who fell to 1-1. Kolze also earned all-tournament honors, as did St. Norbert's Tom Katzfey and Clarke's Cory Billingsley. St. Norbert beat Clarke 77-66 in the first game Saturday.
The Pioneers hit the road for several big games, playing Tuesday at Anderson, Ind., then facing #21 Wooster in the first round of the Hanover (Ind.) tournament Saturday.
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