News Release

Platteville, Wis. — Brad Reitzner's first inclination was to run towards the basket after launching his game-winning three-point shot attempt vs. UW-River Falls.
"When I let it go, I wanted to chase after it," the junior guard said. "I wanted to run and grab it out of the net because it felt good as soon as I released it."
The only problem was, his teammates were already mobbing him.
Reitzner's buzzer-beater swished through the net and lifted UW-Platteville to a stunning 57-56 victory over UW-River Falls Saturday and set off a joyous Williams Fieldhouse celebration for the 1,129 fans.
His shot came after the Pioneers inbounded the ball with 3.6 seconds remaining. The play was originally supposed to be the one Valparaiso made famous in the NCAA tournament, where the ball is passed long to someone who kicks it outside for a three-point attempt. When 6-8 all-American Rich Melzer came up to guard the Pioneers' 6-3 LeVon Crawford, plans changed.
"The goal was to find LeVon on the top, but that was a mismatch with Melzer being so long and so athletic," Pioneer first-year Coach Paul Combs said. "So we got it to Brad at the free-throw line, and LeVon came up and set a great screen. It was a total team play, as Brandon (Temperly) made a good pass after Frank (McGettigan) originally set a screen to get Brad free. Then LeVon got a good screen, and Brad let it fly."
The shot capped a wild final 10 seconds during which four baskets and 10 points were scored.
With the Falcons holding a 52-51 lead, and the shot clock winding down, Melzer nailed a three-pointer from the right side with 10 seconds left. Reitzner then came down the floor and made a running three-point shot with 5.6 seconds left, cutting the lead to 55-54.
"That's one people won't talk about, but that was a tough pull-up," Combs said. "If he misses that, the game's over."
Instead, the Pioneers' fouled Hans Hoeg, who made the first free throw and missed the second with 4.4 seconds left. Temperly rebounded the ball and called timeout to set up the final play.
With the victory, UW-Platteville improved to 9-6 overall and 4-3 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Falcons, who had their eight-game winning streak snapped, fell to 10-5, 4-3. Both teams trail UW-Oshkosh and UW-Whitewater by one game in the conference race.
Melzer, the WIAC's leading scorer, scored 22 points to pace the Falcons, while Jesse Lam added 14.
Reitzner finished with 25 points, while Crawford scored 11, including a three-point play with 5:16 left that gave the Pioneers their first lead of the game at 49-46. A Reitzner jump shot extended the lead to 51-46 with 1:43 left. A Pioneer miss and two turnovers helped the Falcons regain the advantage at 52-51 with 52 seconds left on Jesse Lam's layup.
"I felt so bad after the two turnovers (in the final minute) that I totally let the team down," Reitzner said. "T.A. (assistant coach Todd Adrian) told me when I came to the bench that I had to keep my head up because I was going to have a shot to win it. To do that in front of my teammates and the big crowd is unbelievable."