George Fox Loses to Wisconsin-Platteville: 79-69

Bruins Fall to Pioneers in Men's Basketball Non-League Finale.

Salem-News.com

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - With no answer for 6-10 center Jeff Skemp, who posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, the George Fox University Bruins dropped a 79-69 decision to the University of Wisconsin-Platteville Pioneers in their final non-conference men’s basketball game of the season Monday afternoon here at Point Loma Nazarene University’s Golden Gym.

Skemp and the Bruins’ Evan Atwater traded a pair of free throws to open the first-half scoring, but Charlie Lohoff hit a three-pointer and a jumper and Skemp made a steal and subsequent layup for a 9-2 Pioneer lead five minutes into the game.

Another Skemp jumper gave Platteville its largest lead of the half at 23-10 with 9:32 remaining, but the Bruins closed within six when Mark Metzler scored off a steal and assist by Brent Satern, making it 32-26 with 4:45 left.

The Pioneers, led by Skemp’s 12 points in the period, held a 38-30 advantage at the break after shooting .522 (12-23) from the floor to only .346 (9-26) for the Bruins.

The Pioneers remained hot in the second half, shooting .571 (12-21) to .417 (10-24) for the Bruins. Curtis Hanson hit back-to-back threes to open the second half as the Pioneers built a 44-30 lead and held a double-digit margin the rest of the way.

Platteville’s largest lead was 22 points at 62-40 on a fast-break layup by Mike Shaw with 10:58 to play. The Bruins finally got back within 10 points 10 seconds from the end on a Taylor Martin layup for the final score.

Satern led the Bruins with 20 points, hitting 4-5 from the field and 12-14 from the line, while Travis Toedtemeier and Joe Ahn came off the bench to add 11 and 10 points respectively. Toedtemeier also collared five rebounds, and Satern had six assists. Satern and Atwater had four steals each as the Bruins forced 27 turnovers from the Pioneers. The Bruins shot .380 (19-50) as a team, and were out-rebounded 36-25.

The Pioneers placed four players in double figures in points, with Skemp and Mike Shaw totaling 14 apiece, Hanson finishing with 13, and Lohoff scoring 12. Platteville shot .545 as a team (24-44). Josh Langefeld handed out four assists.

George Fox (4-5) opens up Northwest Conference play Friday at 8:00 PM at home against Pacific Lutheran University, following the women’s NWC matchup at 6:00 PM. Wisconsin-Platteville (8-3) visits the University of Wisconsin-Stout Saturday for a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tilt at 5:00 PM CST.

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