Box Score
Platteville 69, Yellowjackets 62
Box Score
Coming into Saturday afternoon's game with UW-Platteville, it wouldn't have been too much of stretch to suggest the UW-Superior Yellowjackets and Pioneers were destined to provide the audience at Bo Ryan Court with a close contest.
After all, the Yellowjackets had slipped past the Pioneers 64-61 in their first meeting two weeks ago at Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium. And with playoff positioning now clearly in the minds of both sides, the second meeting figured to be just as competitive.
Unlike the first meeting, the Pioneers took command early however and then made several big plays down the stretch to down the Yellowjackets 69-62.
The two teams played nip-and-tuck basketball for most of the first 10 minutes, leading to a 16-14 Pioneers' edge after a driving layup by Dustin Ritchie (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) with 11:17 left in the opening half.
A three-pointer by Ritchie evened matters at 19-19 at the 7:48 mark before an 11-0 Pioneers' run resulted in a 30-19 UW-Platteville advantage following Chas Cross' layup with 5:23 showing on the clock.
Brendan Bauer (Eleva, Wis./Gilmanton) finally ended the run, sinking a long two-point jumper on the next possession to bring UW-Superior (11-7 overall, 5-4 WIAC) within 30-21 with 5:01 remaining in the opening half.
The Pioneers (10-8, 4-5) continued to surge in the final five minutes, upping their lead to 36-22 on a jumper by Matt Weik with 2:08 before heading to the intermission holding a 39-28 edge.
UW-Superior came out strong in the second half, getting two quick three's from Ritchie and a pair of inside baskets from Bronson Byrne (Chanhassen, Minn./Chaska) on the way to evening matters at 45-45 with just over 11 minutes left in regulation.
But after a layup by Byrne tied the game 47-47 with 9:40 left, the Pioneers again pulled away, outscoring the Yellowjackets 14-5 over the next 5:41 for a 61-52 advantage after two free throws by Brett Stangel with 4:59 remaining.
Bauer's lay-in with 1:12 left brought UW-Superior to within 63-59. But two free throws each from Cross, Rob Stallion and B.J. Litz in the final minute ended any chance of a comeback.
The Yellowjackets were paced by Ritchie with a game-high 19 points. Ben Aalfs (Hutchinson, Minn./Hutchinson) added 15 while Bauer finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.
UW-Platteville was led by Cross with 18 points. Stangel added 14 points while Weik added 13. The Pioneers also out-rebounded UW-Superior 36-25 and had 16 offensive rebounds while the Yellowjackets finished with eight.
UW-Superior heads to UW-Eau Claire on Wednesday. The game can be heard locally on 91.3 FM KUWS. Matt Johnson will be on the call.
