PLATTEVILLE, Wis. — UW-Stout battled evenly with UW-Platteville for 20 minutes Saturday night, but a decisive second-half surge by the Pioneers proved to be the difference as the Blue Devils fell, 74-47, at Bo Ryan Court in the regular season finale.
Stout (9-16, 5-9 WIAC) entered the night locked into the No. 6 seed for the WIAC Tournament and now turns its attention to postseason play Tuesday evening.
The Blue Devils showed early fight in a back-and-forth first half that featured seven ties and nine lead changes.
Collin Vick opened the scoring with a layup at 19:00, and after Platteville answered, AJ Uttech buried a three at 16:51 to tie the game at 5-5. Wesley Mboga knocked down a triple at 15:51 to give Stout an 8-7 edge, one of several early momentum swings.
Midway through the half, Mboga's second three of the period at 10:13 capped a quick response and put the Blue Devils up 18-17. Stout continued to attack the rim and get to the line, with Domanyck Schwarzenberger converting a three-point play at 2:57 to trim the deficit to 30-28.
In the closing minute of the half, Nolan Stauffacher came up with a steal at 0:49 that led to a Carson Leuzinger layup at 0:34, pushing Stout in front 32-30. Platteville answered with two free throws in the final seconds, sending the teams into the locker room tied 32-32.
The game turned quickly after the break.
After a Max Love layup gave Platteville a 34-32 lead at 19:22, the Pioneers capitalized on consecutive Stout turnovers. A steal and fastbreak layup by Love at 18:52 sparked a 7-0 spurt, and an Aiden Wieczorek three at 16:49 stretched the margin to 42-32.
Platteville's pressure continued to create offense. A Max Lucey steal led to a Wieczorek fastbreak three at 15:47, making it 47-32. Less than 90 seconds later, another turnover turned into a layup by Wieczorek at 14:29, and the lead ballooned to 51-32.
The Pioneers eventually used a 26-0 run to break the game open, turning a 32-32 halftime tie into a 58-32 advantage by the 12:30 mark. During that stretch, Stout was held scoreless for nearly eight minutes while Platteville shot better than 55 percent in the second half.
Jackson Wilhelmson snapped the drought with a three at 9:59, and Colin Hudson followed with a triple at 9:23, but the deficit remained too large to overcome.
Schwarzenberger led Stout with 13 points, going 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Mboga added eight points, while Uttech, Hudson, and Cade LaFavor each chipped in five off the bench.
Platteville was paced by Joey Fuhremann's 23 points, including a 13-of-17 effort at the free throw line, and Wieczorek added 12 points.
By The Numbers
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32-32 — The score at halftime after seven ties and nine lead changes in a tightly contested opening 20 minutes.
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26-0 — Platteville's game-changing second-half run that turned a tie game into a 26-point deficit.
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28 — Points off turnovers for the Pioneers, compared to 16 for Stout. Platteville forced 19 Blue Devil turnovers.
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55.6% — Platteville's shooting percentage in the second half (15-of-27), a major factor in pulling away.
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9-of-10 — Free throw shooting for Domanyck Schwarzenberger, who led Stout with 13 points.
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22 — Bench points for Stout, with key contributions from Uttech, Hudson, and LaFavor.
Up Next
UW-Stout will enter the WIAC Tournament as the No. 6 seed and will travel Tuesday for a 7 p.m. quarterfinal matchup against No. 3 seeded UW-Lacrosse.
