Pioneers' "D" keys win over Titans
February 9, 2005
UW-Platteville, ranked third in the nation in scoring defense, needed every bit of that defensive prowess in defeating UW-Oshkosh 47-44 Wednesday in Williams Fieldhouse.
The Pioneers' ninth straight victory raised their record to 16-5 overall and 11-2 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Pioneers remain tied for first with UW-Stevens Point, a 75-64 winner over UW-Whitewater.
UW-Platteville avenged an 82-60 loss in Oshkosh Jan. 4, the last time the Pioneers lost a game. UWP held the Titans to 28.6 percent from the field, but only connected on 40.8 percent of its own shots.
The 17th-ranked Pioneers scored the game's first eight points and never trailed. The 26th-ranked Titans closed within 35-33, but the Pioneers scored the next six points.
UWP led 47-38 with 4:05 to play, but failed to score the rest of the game. The Titans closed within 47-44 with 2:24 remaining on Kerry Gibson's two free throws, but missed its last four field-goal attempts in the final 1:07. The Titans missed three-point attempts in the last 15 seconds.
The Pioneers, who give up just 57.4 ppg on the year, tied the school record for fewest points in a winning game. Mark Gossens paced the offense with 12 points and nine rebounds, while Brad Reitzner had nine points, and Sean Krause and Brandon Temperly each scored eight.
Gibson topped the Titans (16-7, 9-5) with 12 points, while Jim Capelle had 10 points and eight rebounds.
With its victory, the Pioneers clinched a home-court game in the first round of the WIAC playoffs, set for Feb. 22.
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