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| Tournament MVP Curt Hanson drives against the Saints |
UW-Platteville raced out to a 20-4 lead and beat Maryville (Mo.) 81-69 Saturday night, claiming the championship of the Pioneer Ford-Mercury/Tricor Insurance Tip-Off Classic on Bo Ryan Court.
The visitors from St. Louis favor an up-tempo game, but early on, the Pioneers pushed the ball up the court and got good looks.
"We knew they were a transition team after watching them yesterday (Friday)," tournament MVP Curt Hanson said. "A part of our game is transition, too, and since we are so deep, we pushed it up and took what we could get."
Mike Shaw's three-pointer gave the Pioneers their largest lead at 35-10, and UWP took a 45-24 halftime advantage. The Pioneers enjoyed a 24-point bulge (67-43) still with 7:26 remaining before Maryville started hitting three-pointers. The Saints used an 8-0 run, with three-pointers by Casey Holland and Aaron Steinke sandwiched around a Nick Hentis jumper, cutting the deficit to 71-58 with 3:32 remaining. The Pioneers' Nick Allen scored off a Charlie Lohoff assist, pushing the margin back to 73-58.
The closest the Saints came was 79-69 with 20 seconds remaining, and Hanson's two free throws with 15 seconds left accounted for the final score.
Hanson earned the MVP honors after scoring a game-high 22 points with three assists, a block and a steal.
"It means a lot," he said. "There were a lot of good players here, not only on our team but in the whole tournament. It just feels good to know that they picked me."
Shaw, who added 16 points Saturday, and Josh Langenfeld, who had 10 points, four assists and two steals, also earned spots on the all-tournament team. Kyle Tetschlag added 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Steinke, who had 23 points, earned an all-tournament berth for Maryville. Matt Baker had 10 points before fouling out.
Edgewood's Charlie Averkamp, who had 20 points in the Eagles' 72-56 win over Beloit Saturday, also made the all-tournament berth.
The 2-0 Pioneers face two more St. Louis clubs next weekend, traveling to the Show-Me State for a pair of showdowns. UWP plays at Webster University Saturday at 3 p.m. and then faces number one ranked Wash U. Sunday at 2 p.m. Both games are in the Webster fieldhouse.
"This was a good start for us," Hanson said. "We want to make sure we can own the homecourt. This was a good stepping stone for us."
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