Men's basketball team falls to Pioneers

12/7/2009
By Travis Dedina
Staff Writer

On Sat., Dec. 5, the Yellowjackets met the Pioneers of Platteville for their second Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game of the year.

The ‘Jackets entered the contest having won their first conference game over UW-River Falls on December 2nd, Platteville was carrying an impressive 5-2 record on the season and was ranked third in the WIAC Conference.

The ‘Jackets ran out to an early lead as Senior point guard Dwight Hill (Chicago, IL), who finished the game as the leading scorer with 23 points, made a layup to put the Yellowjackets up 13-5 with 13:05 left in the first half. The Pioneers then came back after an 9-0 run to grab the lead with 10:58 left.

However, the combination of the ‘Jackets respectable 55.6% field goal shooting and the Pioneer’s poor 27.6% shooting after a string of missed layups and free throws created a 34-28 Yellowjacket lead at the half.

The Pioneers started the half with a quick layup on their first possession. The Yellowjackets then came back with an answer of their own as junior Jake Smith (Rhinelander, WI) scored 2 of his 18 points on a layup. The two teams continued to trade baskets until the Pioneers took the lead for good after a lay-up by the Pioneers with 8:13 left in the game. The Pioneers then cruised to a 75-63 win over the visiting Yellowjackets.

The Yellowjackets will now head into a three game homestand as they face Northwestern College and conference foe UW Whitewater who are currently undefeated at 7-0 and are tied for first place in the WIAC.