Kiwanis-Wittenberg Tip-Off Classic: Men's Consolation Game

Both teams came dangerously close to drawing blood in this physical foul-fest, but in the end order was restored and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville came out the winner of the 2003 Kiwanis-Wittenberg Tip-Off Classic consolation game. The Pioneers, who fell 83-78 in the semifinals on Friday to Washington University, came out on top after making 40-of-47 free throws to gain a 85-78 victory.

Wisconsin-Platteville, which played Washington University tough in one of Friday's semifinal match-ups before falling 83-78, fell behind by as many as seven points in the first half before taking the lead at the 9:14 mark on a three-pointer by Kendall Syse and again on a pair of free throws by Tom Molitor with 51 seconds remaining in the half. The latter gave the Pioneers a lead they would never relinquish, despite a gallant, physical effort by Eastern, which dropped to 0-2 after also losing in the semifinals to eventual champion Wittenberg.

UWP was led by Brad Reitzner's 23 points, six rebounds and four assists. He made the all-tournament team. In addition, Brandon Temperly finished with 16 points and five rebounds and two players rounded things out with 11 points, Frank McGettigan and LeVon Crawford. The Pioneers shot 48 percent from the field and, more importantly, 85 percent from the line. They also won the battle of the boards by a 30-23 count.

The Eagles, who shot 56 percent from the field and 73 percent from the free throw line but had four players foul out of the game and lost the aforementioned rebounding battle. Eastern was paced by Francis Bowe, who was outstanding off the bench with five three-pointers in five attempts and 2-for-2 from the free throw line for a team-high 17 points. Brent Voorhees finished with 14 points, three rebounds and three assists and Anthony Moncrieft added 12 points and four rebounds.