Pioneers win in Gard's head coaching debut
Posted November 17, 2009
A balanced UW-Plattevile men's basketball team beat Clarke 73-66 Tuesday in Dubuque, making Jeff Gard a winner in his Pioneer head coaching debut.
Shane Kieler scored 16 points, making 7-9 from the field, to lead five Pioneers in double figures. Mike Shaw totaled 15, Curt Hanson and Nick Allen each scored 14,and Eric Wall 12 for the Pioneers, who shot 55.6 percent from the field.
UWP led 35-34 at the half, then used an early 14-4 second-half run to take a 51-40 lead. The Crusaders eventually cut the gap to 68-66 with 1:47 to play on Eli Fitzsimon's layup, but Kieler answered with a jump shot at 1:21, and Shaw made three of four free throws in the final 10 seconds.
Fitzsimons scored 24 points for the Clarke (0-5), who had played four previous games.
Gard became the 13th head coach in Pioneer history this season and the sixth to win his debut.
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