Men’s basketball falls to top WIAC contending Blugolds
The University of Wisconsin-Platteville men’s basketball team fell 78-67 to the No. 2 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference ranked UW-Eau Claire Blugolds on Saturday in Eau Claire, falling to 10-11 on the season and 4-6 in the WIAC.
February 6, 2016
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. —The University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball team fell 78-67 to the No. 2 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference ranked UW-Eau Claire Blugolds on Saturday in Eau Claire, falling to 10-11 on the season and 4-6 in the WIAC.
Sophomore Matt Oestreich tied his game-high record points with 18 and also tacked on six assists in the loss. Senior Boston Johnson was the next highest scorer for the Pioneers, logging 17 points, two assists and five rebounds against the Blugolds.
After falling behind 10-2 in the first two minutes of the game, the Pioneers fought their way back to lead 11-10 with 15:35 remaining in the half. The Blugolds tied the game at 15 at the 13:29 mark and never looked back, leading the Pioneers 37-32 at halftime.
Coming out of the break, UW-Eau Claire went on an 8-0 run before an Oestreich jump shot with 14:34 to go brought the score to 46-34 in favor of the Blugolds.
The Pioneers were down by 15 with 1:26 remaining in the game, but came back with the help of Johnson, who scored seven of his 17 points in the last minute of the game, but it was the Blugolds' free throws at the end of the game that pushed them to the WIAC win at 78-67.
The Pioneers return to action on Wednesday against UW-Whitewater at Williams Fieldhouse at 7 p.m.
Written by: Carly Willman, University Information and Communications, 608.342.1194, willmanc@uwplatt.edu