Box Score

PLATTEVILLE – No. 6 UW-Stevens Point overcame a four point deficit with three minutes remaining in the game to send the game to overtime and came away with a 73-66 victory against the Pioneers of UW-Platteville, the nation's No. 4 ranked team, at Bo Ryan Court in Platteville.

Midway through the first half, Platteville built its largest lead, going ahead by five at the 11:34 mark when they held a 14-9 lead. UWSP came storming back, taking a 19-18 lead with 5:29 left off a pair of Jared Jenkins (Milwaukee/Rufus King) (Milwaukee) free throws. From there, both teams traded baskets until the Pioneers went ahead by three after a Charlie Lohoff connected on a three-pointer with 2:12 remaining. Jerome Wotachek (Mishicot/Mishicot) (Mishicot) cut the deficit to one with a jumper near the end of the half, and Platteville held a 24-23 advantage at the break.

In the second half, it was again a back-and-forth battle, as the team's traded leads down the stretch until the host Pioneers pulled ahead to another five point lead, 51-46 with 4:14 remaining. Again the Pointers came fighting back to tie the game for the ninth time, as this time a pair of Louis Hurd (Portage/Portage) (Portage) free throws knotted the score at 52.

After going ahead by two with just :11 remaining thanks to a Pete Rortvedt (Minocqua/Lakeland) (Minocqua) three, UWP's Charlie Lohoff was fouled and sent to the line with just :03 remaining where he connected on both attempts, tying the game for the 11th time and sending the game to overtime.

In the overtime period, UWSP was able to pull away, as Matt Moses (Fond du Lac/St. Mary Springs) (Fond du Lac) hit two free throws and then a layup to give the Pointers the four point lead. Khalifa El-Amin (Milwaukee/Rufus King) (Milwaukee) added two more free-throws for a six point edge as Stevens Point held on for their second straight overtime victory.

Leading the way for the Pointers was Moses, who scored seven of his team-high 15 points in the overtime period while Hurd added 14 points and four rebounds. Rortvedt finished with 13 points and six rebounds, tied with Bryan Beamish (Wisconsin Rapids/Lincoln) (Wisconsin Rapids) for the team high. Nick Krull (Marshall/Marshall) (Marshall) added nine points for the Pointers off the bench while Jenkins added eight.

For Platteville, Charlie Lohoff had a game-high 21 points including five three-pointers. Skemp added 14 while Curt Hanson and Mike Shaw each added 11.

UW-Stevens Point improves to 11-2 overall, and sits atop the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) as the last undefeated team at 5-0. UW-Platteville falls to 13-2 overall, and suffers their first WIAC loss, 5-1.

The Pointers now return home to host UW-Stout on Jan. 14 in WIAC action, starting at 7 p.m. in the Quandt Fieldhouse.