UW-Platteville beat UW-Stout 58-52 in a battle of undefeated teams before 1,380 fans--most of them wearing orange--in Williams Fieldhouse Saturday afternoon.
The Pioneers are 5-0 for the first time since the 2001-02 season and 1-0 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play. The Blue Devils dropped to 3-1, 1-1.
With both teams receiving votes in the latest D3hoops.com poll, the matchup was a natural for the WIAC Game of the Week. While We Were Young Productions recorded the contest, which will be shown on Fox Sports Net North (channel 20 in Platteville) Dec. 5 at 7 p.m.
The state-wide audience will be treated to the same physical matchup the orange-clad fans saw Saturday. UW-Stout's seven-foot twins Jacob and John Nonemacher battled UWP's 6-10 Jeff Skemp and 6-6 Mark Gossens in the paint all afternoon.
Skemp led all scorers with 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while Gossens added 10 points and seven boards. Jacob Nonemacher had 11 points and 11 rebounds, while 6-6 forward Eric Heisler had 18 points for Stout.
While the battle raged inside, the Pioneers' outside shooting proved to be the difference. Charlie Lohoff made three three-point baskets in less than two minutes, as the Pioneers turned a 34-33 deficit into a 45-36 advantage. A three-point shot by Curt Hanson extended the lead to 12 at 52-40, while Gossens made two in the final five minutes for a 13-point advantage. The Blue Devils cut the lead to 58-52 on Jacob Nonemacher with 52 seconds left, but those were the last points of the day. The Pioneers were not yet in the bonus and did not have to shoot a free throw until 19 seconds were left.
UWP made 8 of 19 three-point shots, including 6 of 12 in the second half.
The Pioneers put their unblemished mark on the line Wednesday, when UW-La Crosse comes to town for a 7 p.m. start. The Eagles are also an honorable mention pick in the national poll and knocked off eighth-ranked UW-Whitewater Wednesday and UW-Eau Claire Saturday.