Charlie Lohoff (32), Jeff Skemp (52) and Curt Hanson (10) earned first team all-WIAC honors

UW-Platteville's Jeff Skemp earned the co-MVP of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and joined Pioneer teammates Curt Hanson and Charlie Lohoff on the first team.

Bo Richter was named to the nine-player all-sportmanship team.

The Pioneers take a 22-5 record into Friday's NCAA III tournament game against Hope College. The Pioneers battle the Flying Dutchmen at 6 p.m. in Wheaton College, with the host Thunder to meet Fontbonne at 8 p.m. The winners meet Saturday at 7 p.m. with a trip to the Sweet Sixteen on the line.

Skemp, a senior center from Hazel Green (Southwestern High School) is one of 10 finalists for the national Jostens Trophy for the Division III Player of the Year. He is averaging 18.2 points and 5.7 rebounds to lead the Pioneers. The all-American was named tournament MVP at UW-Platteville Tip-Off Classic and made all-tournament team at Hanover. Twice, he earned the WIAC Player of the Week Award and once was on the D3hoops.com Team of the Week. Skemp has scored in double figures 24 times, and the Pioneers are 20-1 when he scores at least 15 points. He currently ranks seventh in Pioneer history with 1,410 career points and is the career leader in starts with 112 and blocked shots with 122.

UW-Oshkosh's D.J. Marsh shared co-MVP honors with Skemp.

Hanson and Lohoff both earned all-league honors for the second time.

Hanson, a junior guard from Deerfield, Ill., earned his second consecutive first-team honor. He is averaging 13.8 points per game, reaching double figures in 19 of the 27 games. Hanson was named to the all-tournament teams at UW-Platteville and St. Norbert and was the MVP at Hanover (Ind.) Tournament. He is second in UWP's record book with 178 career three-point baskets.

Lohoff, a senior guard from Oshkosh (North), has played in 103 Pioneer games, starting 90 of them. He is averaging 9.3 ppg and is ranked 24th in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio. He is also the team's lock-down defender, guarding the opposition's best scoring threat, no matter what position. Lohoff earned a spot on the D3hoops.com Team of the Week after 24-point performance vs. UW-River Falls. He was an honorable mention all-WIAC selection in 2006-07.

This marks the first time since 1998-99 (Merrill Brunson, Mike Jones, Blake Knutson, Dan Wargolet) the Pioneers have had at least three first team members. Skemp is the first Pioneer since Brunson to earn league MVP honors.

Richter, a senior from Waukesha (South), has played in exactly 100 games in the orange and blue. He joined the other honorees (and Kyle Tetschlag) in the starting lineup at Division I Bradley Nov. 9 and helped the Pioneers pull the huge 84-79 exhibition upset that set the stage for the 2008-09 success.

2008-09 All-WIAC Men’s Basketball Team

First Team

Name, School, Year, Position, Height, Hometown (High School)

Bryan Beamish, Stevens Point, Senior, Forward, 6-6, Wisconsin Rapids (Lincoln)

Dan Beyer, Eau Claire, Senior, Forward, 6-7, Waukesha (Catholic Memorial)

Khalifa El-Amin, Stevens Point, Senior, Guard, 5-8, Milwaukee (Rufus King)

Curt Hanson, Platteville, Junior, Guard, 6-1, Deerfield, Ill.

Charlie Lohoff, Platteville, Senior, Guard, 6-3, Oshkosh (North)

D.J. Marsh, Oshkosh, Junior, Forward, 6-4, Bayside (Nicolet)

Myles McKay, Whitewater, Senior, Guard, 6-3, Menomonee Falls

Matt Moses, Stevens Point, Junior, Guard, 6-2, Fond du Lac (St. Mary Springs)

Pete Rortvedt, Stevens Point, Senior, Forward, 6-5, Minocqua (Lakeland)

Dane Seckar-Anderson, Oshkosh, Senior, Forward, 6-7, Oshkosh (West)

Jeff Skemp, Platteville, Senior, Center, 6-10, Hazel Green (Southwestern)

Kori Vernon, Whitewater, Senior, Forward, 6-6, Madison (Memorial)

Honorable Mention

Aaron Anderson, River Falls, Freshman, Guard, 6-4, Stillwater, Minn.

Matt Goodwin, Whitewater, Senior, Guard, 6-1, Milwaukee (King)

Dwight Hill, Superior, Junior, Guard, 5-9, Chicago, Ill. (DeLaSalle)

Jontae Koonkaew, River Falls, Sophomore, Guard, 5-9, Apple Valley, Minn.

Matt Miller, Oshkosh, Senior, Guard, 5-9, Hudson

Dustin Mitchell, Whitewater, Junior, Center, 6-9, Lakeland

Ryan Shea, Eau Claire, Sophomore, Guard, 6-4, Duluth, Minn. (East)

Jake Smith, Superior, Sophomore, Forward, 6-6, Rhinelander

Trevor Stratton, La Crosse, Junior, Guard, 6-2, Wisconsin Rapids (Lincoln)

Jake Voeltz, River Falls, Sophomore, Forward, 6-4, River Falls

All-Sportsmanship Team

Mark Tiefel, Eau Claire, Senior, Guard, 6-1, Eau Claire (Immanuel)

Rick Karius, La Crosse, Senior, Guard, 5-10, Chilton

Dane Seckar-Anderson, Oshkosh, Senior, Forward, 6-7, Oshkosh (West)

Bo Richter, Platteville, Senior, Guard, 6-1, Waukesha (South)

Jesse Elling, River Falls, Senior, Guard, 6-1, River Falls

Jerome Wotachek, Stevens Point, Senior, Center, 6-8, Mishicot

Drew Kramer, Stout, Freshman, Forward, 6-6, Anoka, Minn.

Jason Proue, Superior, Senior, Center, 6-6, Chippewa Falls (McDonell)

Billy Kolinske, Whitewater, Senior, Forward, 6-6, Waukesha (Catholic Memorial)