The game would have made a good Wes Craven script ... risen from the dead. In another classic Whitewater-Platteville men's basketball game UW-Platteville edged UW-Whitewater 77-74 in overtime in Williams Fieldhouse in Platteville, Wisconsin in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament semifinal game Thursday night.
box score
Platteville led 38-27 at halftime, and the Pioneers extended the gap to 46-29 on a Jeff Skemp layup at 16:11. Over the final sixteen minutes the Warhawks closed the gap, entirely, outscoring UW-P 27-9. Junior center Dustin Mitchell (Lac Du Flambeau/Lakeland) made two free throws with four seconds left for the Warhawks to tie the game 58-58. Platteville had a chance to end it in regulation, missing a three-pointer and a tip-in at the buzzer to send it into overtime.
Platteville built a seven point bulge, 71-64 on a Mike Shaw jumper at 0:28 left. Myles McKay (Menomonee Falls/Menomonee Falls) came back with a three for Whitewater to make it 71-67 with 0:23 left. Over the course of the next four seconds Platteville hit four free throws and Whitewater two, to give UW-P a 75-69 lead. Tyson Kingsby (Milwaukee/Custer), the hero the win over UW-Stevens Point, hit another big three for UW-W to make it 75-72 at 0:11. Whitewater fouled immediately and Shaw hit two free throws with ten seconds left to make it 77-72, and McKay responded with two free throws to make it a one possession game again, 77-74 with five seconds left. Platteville turned the ball over on the inbounds, setting up a final three point attempt for UW-W that fell short.
Whitewater kept coming back, never holding the lead in the game and the only tie of the game was at the end of regulation.
There wasn't a gnat's eye difference in the team statistics, with almost every category mirroring the two teams. Dustin Mitchell (Lac Du Flambeau/Lakeland) scored a season high 21 points, with McKay adding 18 and Kingsby 13. Kingsby led UW-W with seven rebounds and three assists, and Mitchell had two blocked shots. Guard Charlie Lohoff led UW-P with 19 points, and senior center Jeff Skemp and forward Eric Wall had 12 each, and Shaw scored 11. Skemp had six rebounds and three blocked shots, and Wall led UW-P with three steals.
UW-W, 22-5 and ranked seventh in the D3hoops.com poll, will await word on the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III tournament. Bids will be announced Monday, March 2, with play beginning Wednesday the fourth or Friday the sixth. UW-Platteville, 22-4 and ranked fifth, will travel to UW-Stevens Point for the WIAC Tournament championship game Saturday.
For additional information: Pat Miller, UW-W coach
