UW-Platteville trailed the entire second half until Kyle Tetschlag scored on an inbounds pass from Mike Jamerson with 27 seconds to play for a 59-58 lead. Jamerson then stole a pass, was fouled and made two free throws with 12 seconds remaining. The Blugolds' Luke Meier missed a three-point shot at the buzzer.
The Pioneers dedicated the Williams Fieldhouse floor to Coach Ryan, who led UWP to a 353-76 mark from 1984 to 1999 with NCAA Division III national championships in 1991, 1995, 1998 and 1999. The sell-out crowd included Ryan's current team, the second-ranked Wisconsin Badgers.
"There are a lot of W’s and L’s that were repeated here and columns with numbers all on one side or one on the other and we’re extremely proud of that," Ryan said, "but do you know what? Fiteen years is a small timeline on the University of Wisconsin-Platteville lifespan. What means more to people is how you conduct your personal lives, what you give back to your communities, and what you want to be a part of in the long run. And to me, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville people are the best!"
Coach Ryan and the Badgers departed after halftime in order to make their scheduled shoot-around in Iowa City before Sunday's nationally televised game with the Hawkeyes. The rest of the crowd saw quite a Pioneer comeback.
UW-Eau Claire, which led 35-26 at the half, expanded the lead to 40-26 2:24 into the second half on a Matt Riley three-point shot and Ban Beyer's jump shot. The Pioneers came within 47-46 on Tetschlag's layup with 7:46 to play, but Beyer and Colin Boone made layups to push the lead to five points. The Pioneers threatened several more times, but could not take the lead until the end.
With the Pioneers trailing 58-54, Charlie Lohoff made a three-point shot with 38 seconds to go. Mark Gossens, with help from his teammates, forced a jump ball, and the Pioneers took possession under the basket. Jamerson then found Tetschlag cutting underneath the basket for a layup.
The Pioneers scored the final seven points, much like their game at UW-Eau Claire Jan. 13 when they scored the last 11 points in a 53-47 win.
Lohoff had his first career double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Gossens had 14 points and Tetschlag 11 for the Pioneers, who have won four of their last five Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference games. UWP improved to 11-7, 6-4.
Beyer led the Blugolds (9-10, 3-8) with 17 points, while Geoff Probst had 11.