Pioneers win at the buzzer

A last second jumper by Matt Oestreich put UW-Platteville up for good as the Pioneers defeated UW-La Crosse 63-62 Saturday night on Bo Ryan Court.

The Pioneers struggled to keep pace with the Eagles in the first half falling behind by as many as 10. Baskets by Alex Ranney and Oestreich cut that deficit to six at the break.

A layup by Ranney with 15:16 left in the game moved UW-Platteville to within 37-40 and neither team led by more than three the rest of the way. A minute later the Pioneers took their first of eight leads on an Oestreich three.

Down 59-62 with 52 seconds remaining Clay Gerds scored on an offensive rebound to pull within one. The Pioneers got the ball back after an Eagles turnover and on the ensuing posession Oestreich put the Pioneers up with just three seconds left on the game clock. UW-La Crosse got off a final shot that went off the backboard as time expired.

Oestreich led four Pioneers in double figure scoring with 15. Gerds had 14 to go along with 6 rebounds, Carter Voelker scored 11, and Ranney had 10 for UW-Platteville. Taulvish McCray led the Eagles with 11 points.

With the win UW-Platteville moves to 13-2 overall and 3-1 in the WIAC while UW-La Crosse falls to 9-6, 1-3.

The Pioneers host #13 UW-Oshkosh next Wednesday at 7 pm.