St. Norbert hands Pioneers first loss

St. Norbert's lone loss this season came on UW-Platteville's home court, so on Tuesday night, the Green Knights returned the favor.

St. Norbert missed just six shots in the second half, coming from 15 down to beat previously undefeated UWP 70-68 in the championship of the Nicolet National Bank Holiday Classic.

The top-ranked Pioneers suffered their first loss after 11 wins, while the Green Knights won their seventh in a row since losing to Loras in the first round of the Pioneers' Tip-Off Classic Nov. 21.

The Pioneers forged a 15-point halftime lead at 37-22 before the hosts caught fire. SNC cut the lead to 48-44 and then 51-49 before tying the game at 51 on Dave Wipperfurth's free throws. A Bryan Fleischmann layup and a John Taylor jumper gave the Green Nights the lead for good at 55-51.

UWP's outside gunners of Mike Shaw and Curt Hanson kept the Pioneers in the game with two three-pointers apience in the final 1:40. Hanson's first one cut the lead to 62-59, and Shaw's first brought UWP within 65-62.

After St. Norbert's Mike Dowden made two free throws with 27 seconds left, Shaw made another three, making the score 67-65 with 14 seconds remaining. Dowden hit two more free throws with eight seconds left, before Hanson drilled another bomb with five seconds to go, making the score 69-68. SNC's John Taylor missed a free throw then made the second with three seconds left, but a Pioneer desperation shot at the buzzer was off the mark.

Shaw poured in a career-high 27 points, knocking down 6-8 three-point attempts, while Hanson scored 17, making 4-5 three-pointers. Both junior guards earned spots on the all-tournament team. Charlie Lohoff added nine points, six rebounds and four assists, while Nick Allen made five assists. All-American center Jeff Skemp was held to three points as he battled foul trouble and saw his streak of double-figure scoring games end at 19.

Tournament MVP Tom Katzfey scored 15 points, and Fleischmann added 11 for St. Norbert, who made 17 of 23 in the second half (73.9 percent). The Green Knights also forced 19 Pioneer turnovers, converting them into 20 points, while improving to 8-1 overall.

UW-Platteville is back in action Saturday at 1 p.m. vs. UW-Stout. The Pioneers lead the WIAC with a 3-0 record. Two other conference schools ranked in the top six also lost Tuesday, as number five UW-Stevens Point fell 85-71 to Carroll, and sixth-ranked UW-Whitewater lost 73-67 to Mary Hardin-Baylor.

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