Sophomore Guard Charlie Lohoff drives to the hoop against UW-SP on Feb. 23.

The Pioneer men’s basketball team bounced back from last week’s pair of losses to end their regular season with home wins against UW-Eau Claire and UW-Steven’s Point.

The No. 23 Pioneers defeated UW-EC last Wednesday night at Bo Ryan Court and defeated fifth-ranked UW-SP on Saturday in a WIAC conference showdown.

The Blugolds came to Bo Ryan Court on Feb. 20 looking for a season sweep after handing the Pioneers an overtime loss back in December. The Pioneers had dominating performances from junior Jeff Skemp, who dropped 27 points and sophomore Curt Hanson, who added with 17 points, including five three-pointers.

“We focused on preparing ourselves better, sticking to our game plan,” Skemp said. “We needed to play not just better physically, but mentally again.”

The Pioneers led the first half up until the 6:15 mark when the Blugolds fought their way back into the game, tying the score at 21. UW-EC would then take the lead with a lay-up by sophomore Geoff Probst to go up 23-21.

The Pioneers regained the lead at 27-26 with under four minutes to go in the first half. UW-P continued to hold onto the lead in the first half and went into the locker room on a buzzer beating three-pointer by junior Charlie Lohoff to give the Pioneers a 40-28 advantage.

The Pioneers led by as many as 20 points in the second half and sent the Blugolds home with a 75-58 loss, dropping UW-EC to 11-13 overall, 5-10 in the WIAC.

On Feb. 23, UW-P faced the fifth-ranked Pointers of UW-SP. The Pointers came into the game needing a win to have a chance of sharing the WIAC title with UW-Whitewater. The Pointers defeated the Pioneers on a game winning three-pointer back in January.

The two teams stayed close for the first eight minutes of play before the Pioneers started to break away from the Pointers thanks to a five point outburst from Lohoff at the 9:16 mark. Lohoff finished the game with 15 points.

Skemp powered the Pioneers with 16 first half points and Hanson added four first half three-pointers. They went into the break with a 40-25 lead.

The Pioneers would lead throughout the entire second half. The Pointers would cut the lead to six, but UW-P responded in a big way.

The Pioneers continued to increase their lead and with back-to-back three pointers from Hanson and junior guard Bo Richter along with a lay-up from Lohoff with 3:10 remaining, the Pioneers stretched their biggest lead of the night at 24 points.

“We stepped it up huge with our defense and took control of the game,” Lohoff said.

The Pioneers gave their lone senior Berent Froiland a regular season-ending win with the final score of 84-65. Froiland was recognized by Pioneer fans prior to tip-off.

Skemp led the Pioneers with a game-high 22 points, followed by Hanson with 19.

“This was a big win for us,” Lohoff said. “It put us in the position to get a number two seed in the conference tournament and an extra home game if we continue to win.”

The Pioneers improved to 19-6 overall and 12-4 in conference play. The Pointers dropped to 20-5 overall and 12-4 in the WIAC. The Pioneers and Pointers tied for second place in the WIAC conference standings.

“We played a complete game on both ends of the court,” head coach Paul Combs said. “We came out with a lot of energy and passion along with the great crowd support.”

It was a different story on Feb. 25 as the Pioneers welcomed UW-EC once again to Bo Ryan Court.

From the tip, the Pioneers never seemed to get started and as a result were upset in the first round of the WIAC playoffs, losing the game 84-80.

The Pioneers dug themselves into an early hole as the Blugolds accounted for the first 11 points of the game. UW-P worked hard to get back into the game and were down only one several times in the first half before going to the break down 46-36.

During the second half, UW-P was never able to gain the lead. Paced by by Probst’s 28 points, the Blugolds escaped Platteville with a huge win.

The Pioneers season is in limbo as they must now wait to see if the NCAA selection committee will invite the team to the tournament.

As they stand, the Pioneers finished their season with a 19-7 record and tied for second place in the WIAC.