The UW-Platteville men’s basketball team knocked off UW-Stevens Point 70-57 Saturday night to win the WIAC Men’s Basketball tournament title for the second time in program history. The victory earns the Pioneers an automatic NCAA tournament bid.
It’s the first WIAC tournament title for the Pioneers since 1999. That year (1998-99), the Pioneers beat UW-Stout 90-88 in the title game and went on to secure the program’s fourth national title.
The Pointers took a 55-54 lead on a Drew Fredrickson 3-pointer with 4:25 left to play. That’s when Platteville senior Robert Duax responded by scoring nine unanswered points to give the Pioneers a 63-55 lead. Platteville finished the game on a 16-2 run to seal the victory. Duax had 20 points to lead the Pioneers.
Senior Clay Gerds scored 16 points going 6 of 6 from the field, 2 of 2 from 3-point range and 2 of 2 from the free throw line.Junior Ethan Bublitz had a team high 15 points for the Pointers.
The Pioneers will find out who they’ll face in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament with the NCAA Selection Show on Monday morning.
