Duax scores game-high 28 points in WIAC road loss at UW–Oshkosh

OSHKOSH — Sophomore guard Robert Duax topped the 20-point for the third straight game Saturday night, pouring in a team-high 28 points but visiting UW–Platteville suffered a 77–69 loss at UW–Oshkosh.

Duax, a Dubuque Hempstead graduate, made 10 of 16 shots, including 4 of 7 from 3-point land, and grabbed three rebounds in the nine-point conference loss.

UW–Platteville fell to 8–15 on the season and 1–11 in the WIAC, while the host Titans improved to 14–9 and 7–5 with the Senior Night victory.

Junior Trey Sigel (Rock Island, Ill.) and sophomore Colin Kramper (Downers Grove, Ill.) each finished with a pair of 3-pointers and 10 points each off the bench for coach Jeff Gard's Pioneers. Junior point guard Matt Oestreich (Marshfield) added eight points and a team-high five assists. Senior forward Cory Vaassen (Dickeyville/Cuba City) finished with four points and led the team with eight boards and five assists.

Sophomore Ben Boots scored a team-high 21 points on just nine shots to lead the Titans. Senior forward Max Schebel added 16 points and eight rebounds for the winners.

The Pioneers got off to a fantastic start Saturday night and led 13–2 just over five minutes into the game when Sigel buried a 3-pointer on a feed from Vaassen, but UWO answered with a 13–0 run of its own to grab the lead at 15–13 on Jack Flynn layup with 10:46 left in the half.

The teams traded baskets on six of the next seven possessions, but the Titans closed the half on a 13–7 run to build a 36–28 lead, then opened the second half on a 7–2 push to extend the lead to 13 at 43–30 with 18:24 remaining.

The Pioneers trimmed the lead to three points at 57–54 on a Carter Voelker free throw with eight minutes left, but never did tie the game or retake the lead. The Titans made 6 of 8 from the free throw line in the final 48 seconds to put the game out of reach.

UW–Platteville will return to action Wednesday night at UW–Stevens Point (12–10, 6–6 WIAC) at 7 p.m. The Pioneers last win was a 76–71 victory over the visiting Pointers Jan. 18 at Bo Ryan Court. 

By Jason Nihles, UW–Platteville Athletics