UW-Eau Claire, however, left the floor in a celebratory mood after winning 65-61.
The Blugolds' Dan Archambault blocked Mark Gossens' layin attempt that would have tied the score with eight seconds to play, then made two free throws to seal the 65-61 victory.
UW-Eau Claire improved to 11-14 overall and 5-11 in the WIAC, while the Pioneers fell to 14-10, 8-7. UWP remained in fourth place as both UW-Stout and UW-Oshkosh lost as well. The Pioneers close the regular season Saturday at UW-River Falls, where the Falcons are gunning for their first conference title in 54 years.
Brad Reitzner led the Pioneers with 16 points, while Brandon Temperly had 15, LeVon Crawford 11 and Gossens 10.
Will Jefferson led the Blugolds with a career-high 20 points, while Archambault and Casey Drake each scored 11.
UW-Eau Claire hit 8 of its first 10 shots to take an 18-8 lead and had a 33-30 advantage at halftime.
The second half was back-and-forth until the Blugolds went on a 6-0 run to take a 61-53 lead with 3:21 to play. The Pioneers sliced the deficit to 63-61 on LeVon Crawford's tipin with 34 seconds to play.
The Blugolds' Jesse Breidenbach missed two free throws with 30 seconds to play, but Archambault preserved the lead with his blocked shot.
The Pioneers' all-time record at Williams Fieldhouse now stands at 369-131.
Lands' End will donate $30,000 per year for the next five years. The Dodgeville-based company will also become the official clothing supplier to the Pioneer Athletic Department.
(A special thanks to Blugold Coach Terry Gibbons, who volunteered to have his players sign the commemorative 500th game poster before the contest so all the participants' signatures would be preserved for UWP history.)
UW-Eau Claire vs UW-Platteville 2/17/04 7:00 at Williams Fieldhouse, UW-Platteville At Williams Fieldhouse, UW-Platteville UW-EAU CLAIRE 65, UW-PLATTEVILLE 61 UW-EAU CLAIRE (11-14, 5-11 WIAC) Jefferson, Will 8-8 3-3 20; Drake, Casey 5-13 1-2 11; Archambault, Dan 3-12 5-6 11; Proksch, Kale 3-3 2-5 8; Smith, Buck 3-4 1-1 7; Birkel, Tyler 2-4 2-2 6; Breidenbach, Jesse 1-1 0-2 2; Peterson, Mat 0-1 0-0 0; Honl, Chad 0-2 0-0 0; Walsh, Colin 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-50 14-21 65. UW-PLATTEVILLE (14-10, 8-7 WIAC) Reitzner, Brad 3-14 9-11 16; Temperly, Brandon 6-17 3-4 15; Crawford, LeVon 5-11 1-1 11; Gossens, Mark 5-7 0-0 10; McGettigan, Frank 1-5 2-2 4; Uppena, Tom 1-2 1-2 3; Molitor, Tom 1-2 0-0 2; Syse, Kendall 0-2 0-0 0; Krause, Sean 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-61 16-20 61. UW-Eau Claire................. 33 32 - 65 UW-Platteville................ 30 31 - 61 3-point goals-UW-Eau Claire 1-8 (Jefferson, Will 1-1; Drake, Casey 0-1; Archambault, Dan 0-2; Honl, Chad 0-2; Walsh, Colin 0-2), UW-Platteville 1-14 (Reitzner, Brad 1-10; Temperly, Brandon 0-1; McGettigan, Frank 0-3). Fouled out--UW-Eau Claire-None, UW-Platteville-None. Rebounds-UW-Eau Claire 30 (Drake, Casey 7), UW-Platteville 38 (Crawford, LeVon 10). Assists-UW-Eau Claire 11 (Drake, Casey 4), UW-Platteville 11 (McGettigan, Frank 6). Total fouls-UW-Eau Claire 19, UW-Platteville 21. A-1230