Johnson scores 22, but Pioneer postseason hopes fade with 72-64 loss to UW-Stevens Point

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – Senior Boston Johnson (Oshkosh/North) did his best to shoulder the load for the short-handed Pioneers Wednesday night. 

With injured teammate junior Cory Vaassen (Dickeyville/Cuba City) on the sideline in dress clothes nursing an injured calf, Johnson scored a team-high 22 points, grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and passed out five assists, but it wasn't enough to overcome UW-Stevens Point's one-man show of Sean McGann. 

The senior small forward scored a game-high 35 points on an array of post moves and short jumpers to will the visiting Pointers to a 72-64 road win at Bo Ryan Court. McGann, who is only 6-foot-4, made 14 of his 19 field goal attempts and finished 7 of 10 at the free throw line. He also grabbed a team-high six rebounds.

UW-Stevens Point improved to 14-10 overall and 7-6 in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and in the process eliminated the Pioneers from WIAC postseason contention.

UW-Platteville fell to 10-14 overall and 4-9 in conference with only one game remaining on the schedule, a Saturday's Senior Day game against UW-Stout. Johnson and fellow senior Peyton River (Maquoketa, Iowa) will be honored prior to the game. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

The Pioneers will finish seventh in the WIAC standings regardless of Saturday's outcome. The top six teams in the league qualify for the conference tournament, that begins next Tuesday.

Coach Jeff Gard's Pioneers jumped out to a quick 9-2 lead Wednesday night, but Point responded with an 18-4 run to take a 20-13 lead with 6:08 left in the half.

UW-Platteville  pulled within a basket on a three-point play by Johnson in the final minute to go into halftime down only 26-24.

McGann scored six points in the first five minutes of the second half as UWSP built a 38-30 advantage.

The Pioneers rallied one again behind Johnson as the senior forward scored six straight points to tie the game at 38, but McGann answered with a jump shot on the next possession and the Pointers never trailed again.

Stephen Pelkofer's 3-pointer with 2:44 left in the game pushed the lead to 13 at 61-48.

Freshman Robert Duax (Dubuque/Hempstead) and Colin Connelly (Guttenberg, Iowa/Clayton Ridge) made back-to-back 3-pointers, and River made all three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt in the final minute to cut the lead to single digits, but the Pointers were steady at the line. 

UWSP converted 11 of 14 free throws in the final 1:29 to seal the win.

Duax finished with 13 points and three rebounds in 26 minutes of the bench. Matt Oestreich (Marshfield) added 11 points, six boards and four assists. Freshman Ethan Woodrow (Veedersburg, Ind.) finished with six points and six rebounds starting in place of Vaassen.