Pioneers pull away from Simpson
Tournament MVP Curt Hanson scored 24 points and became UW-Platteville's career three-point leader in leading the Pioneers to a 68-61 win over Pacific Lutheran Sunday on Bo Ryan Court.
Hanson was joined on the all-tournament team by fellow senior guard Mike Shaw who had 18 points in helping the Pioneers to a 2-0 mark in the Pioneer Ford/Frito Lay Thanksgiving Classic.
Hanson knocked down five three-pointers, giving him 194 for his career to surpass the 193 by Merrill Brunson in 1996-2000.
He hit back-to-back three-pointers early in the second half, breaking a 35-35 tie and giving the Pioneers the lead for good. His record-breaker came with 14:24 to play, extending the lead to 46-37.
The Lutes came no closer than seven the rest of the game. Shaw was 8-8 from the line, including 6-6 in the second half to hold off the visitors from Tacoma, Wash.
"We just had to get stops in the second half," Shaw said. "The first half was a struggle. We had a lot of turnovers that led to a lot of easy baskets for Pacific Lutheran. Once we started getting stops, our defense fueled our offense. That's one thing we've tried to focus on."
Eric Wall scored eight points, and Shane Kieler came off the bench to add seven. Twelve different players saw action for Coach Jeff Gard's club, who improved to 4-2 overall.
James Conti led four Lutes (0-4) in double figures with 11 points. Both UW-Platteville and Ripon finished the classic at 2-0.
"It was very important," Shaw said. "I haven't lost in the Pioneer Thanksgiving or opening classic. It's a great thing to get two wins against non-conference teams, and once conference rolls around, you're ready and prepared to go for those games."
Pioneer Ford/Frito Lay Thanksgiving Classic Results
Saturday Scores:
Ripon 81, Pacific Lutheran 75
UW-Platteville 75, Simpson 58
Sunday Scores:
Ripon 78, Simpson 72
UW-Platteville 68, Pacific Lutheran 61
All-Tournament Team
Tim Dunlavy, Simpson (43 points over 2 days)
Aris Wurtz, Ripon (51 points)
Scott Gillespie, Ripon (40 points, 18 assists)
Kyle MacTagert, Pacific Lutheran (24 points, 6 blocks)
Mike Shaw, UW-Platteville (31 points)
MVP: Curt Hanson, UW-Platteville (42 points)
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