UWSP beats UWP in overtime
January 10, 2009
Sixth-ranked UW-Stevens Point topped fourth-ranked UW-Platteville 73-66 in overtime Saturday on Bo Ryan Court in a heavyweight battle worthy of all the pre-game hype.
The teams exchanged blow after blow for 45 minutes, as the final score was the largest lead the entire game. The contest, witnessed by 1,118 fans, had 22 lead changes and 13 ties.
The Pointers (11-2 overall), who won their second road overtime game this week, took sole possession of first place in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with a 5-0 mark. The Pioneers (13-2) fell to 5-1 in league play.
Down 62-60 in the extra session, the Pointers scored eight straight points, on a layup by Jared Jenkins that tied the score, four points by Matt Moses and two Khalifa El-Amin free throws. The Pioneers were not done, as Curt Hanson scored on a drive, was fouled and converted the free throw for a 68-65 game. Moses and Hanson each made one of two free throws, but after Hanson's made shot, Moses caught a full-length in-bounds pass from Bryan Beamish, and his fast-break layup made the score 71-66 with 22 seconds remaining. Pete Rortvedt's two free shots with four seconds left capped the 73-66 game.
Charlie Lohoff tied the game at 58-58 with two free throws with 3.2 seconds remaining. Rortvedt's three-point attempt narrowly missed at the buzzer, treating the fans to five more intense minutes of play.
Lohoff's three-point basket with 1:24 gave the Pioneers a 55-52 led in regulation, but Nick Krull converted a three-point play 16 seconds later, knotting the score at 55. The Pioneers' Jeff Skemp made one of two free shots with 40 seconds remaining, but Rortvedt drilled a long three-point shot from the right side with 10.1 seconds left, giving UWSP a 58-56 lead. Lohoff took the inbounds pass, drove down the right side, drawing the foul and subsequently converting the tying free throws.
With 21 points, Lohoff led all scorers. Skemp added 14, and Hanson and Mike Shaw each had 11 for the Pioneers.
Moses scored 15, Louis Hurd 14 and Rortvedt 13 for the Pointers, who have gutted through three overtime wins in five conference outings. They have handed both Platteville and Whitewater their only league losses, both in extra sessions.
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