Pioneers Post Wire-To-Wire Victory Over Titans

Matt Weik scored a career-high 30 points and grabbed eight rebounds off the bench during UW-Platteville's 91-80 win over the UW-Oshkosh men's basketball team on Saturday (Dec. 17) in Kolf Sports Center.

UW-Platteville (7-4/2-2 WIAC) bolted to an 8-0 lead and never trailed in the contest. Weik connected on 11-of-13 shots from the field and all six of his free throws. The Pioneers, who committed just four turnovers, also received 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists from Rob Stallion and 14 points and five assists from Brett Stangel.

While the Titans (2-5/0-3 WIAC) missed their opening four shots, Stallion sank a pair of lay-ups in the first two minutes. John Flanigan (Sr. • Oshkosh) and Greg Schrimpf (Sr. • Manitowoc) each delivered a three-point play to keep UW-Oshkosh within four points at 12-8.

Weik then took over, scoring 14 straight Pioneer points. He drained six consecutive field goals, including two three-point shots, to put his team ahead, 28-19. UW-Platteville got five late points at the charity stripe to take a 43-27 lead at halftime.

UW-Platteville's lead remained in double digits until the final three minutes of play. Martell Hutchinson (Jr. • Milwaukee) provided some instant offense, converting a jumper and lay-up to pull UW-Oshkosh within 56-43. Weik then drained a three-pointer and Brett Stangel a jump shot to stretch UW-Platteville's advantage to 69-47 with 8:26 remaining.

Using a number of baskets from the paint, UW-Oshkosh got as close as seven points. Mario Johnson (Jr. • Milwaukee) was able to drive in for two lay-ups while also assisting on five others baskets from close range. UW-Oshkosh pulled to 76-69 with 2:29 to play, but that's as tight as the score would get.

Flanigan scored 30 points to surpass his career high for the second consecutive game. He made 11-of-16 shots from the field and all eight free throws while grabbing four rebounds and marking three steals. The Titans also received a career-best 16 points from Hutchinson and eight points each from Schrimpf, Chad Mathwig (Fr. • New Berlin) and Cory Nickel (So. • Waupun).

UW-Oshkosh shot 51.8 percent (29-56) from the field and 81.8 percent (18-22) from the free-throw line. The Titans were 4-of-15 shooting (26.7 percent) from the three-point area.

UW-Platteville won the rebounding battle, 35-22, while shooting 56.4 percent (31-55) from the field. The Pioneers shot 74.3 percent (26-35) from the free-throw line and 33.3 percent (3-9) behind the three-point arc.

UW-Oshkosh heads to Las Vegas (Nev.) for three games, beginning with the College of Mount St. Joseph (Ohio) on Monday (Dec. 19).