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.