PLATTEVILLE, Wis. (blugolds.com) — A buzzer beater at the end of regulation highlighted a wild victory over UW-Platteville for the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire men's basketball team on Wednesday at Bo Ryan Court. Spencer Page (Sr. - Rice Lake, Wis.) hit a 3-pointer from just across the half-court line to force overtime, and the Blugolds outscored the Pioneers 10-7 in the extra period for an 87-84 win.
The Blugolds trailed by eight with 2:25 left in regulation, but stormed back to force an extra period. A UW-Platteville free throw with three seconds left gave the Pioneers a 77-74 cushion, but Page rebounded a miss, sprinted up the court and connected on a game-tying 3-pointer from a few steps in front of midcourt as time expired. UW-Eau Claire made sure the heroics didn't go to waste, using an early 8-1 run in overtime to get past the Pioneers.
UW-Eau Claire trailed for most of regulation, but saved its best for last. The Blugolds had to recover from falling behind 14-3 in the first four minutes of action. They did so with a 13-0 run powered by 3-pointers from Michael Casper (Jr. - Merrill, Wis.) and Gunnar Tebon (Jr. - Sturgeon Bay, Wis.) and an old-fashioned 3-point play by Page. The spurt put the Blugolds ahead 16-14, and the two sides traded swings the rest of the first half. The largest advantage either team held across the final 10 minutes of the half was four points. UW-Platteville carried a 37-36 lead into halftime.
Back-to-back 3-pointers in a span of 34 seconds helped the Pioneers re-establish some of their cushion early in the second half. The second make put them ahead 48-42 with 16:06 left. However, UW-Eau Claire had an answer again. A quick 7-2 spurt featured four points from Brock Voigt (Sr. - Sun Prairie, Wis.) and a 3-pointer from Page to push the Blugolds in front 56-55 with 12 minutes remaining.
From there, the Pioneers slowly built an advantage and kept adding to it. They outscored the Blugolds 20-11 over a span of nine and a half minutes to go ahead 75-67 with 2:25 remaining. Carter Hanke (Sr. - Marathon, Wis.) stepped up this time for the Blugolds, making a layup and a 3-pointer in quick succession to keep their hopes alive. Voigt added a layup with 18 seconds left to make the score 75-74. The Pioneers made two free throws across the final 16 seconds of the game, but Page extended the game with one of the biggest shots of the Blugolds' season. His 3-pointer tied the game at 77.
UW-Platteville scored the first two points in overtime, but UW-Eau Claire took over from there. Voigt and Hanke scored four points apiece to power the Blugolds' 8-1 spurt, which ultimately made the difference. The Pioneers pulled within one after making a 3-pointer with 52 seconds left, but Voigt made another layup with 19 seconds remaining and UW-Platteville couldn't get a last-second 3-pointer to fall.
Voigt tallied a double-double. He led all scorers with 24 points, and added 10 rebounds and three assists. Page provided a spark off the bench with 18 points and eight rebounds. Casper and Carter Huschka (Jr. - Farmington, Minn.) scored 10 points each. Hanke finished with nine points and five rebounds. Tebon had seven points.
The win pushed UW-Eau Claire into fourth place in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) standings with two games left to play. The Blugolds (14-9, 6-6) host UW-Stevens Point on Saturday, Feb. 11, at Zorn Arena. They'll honor their seniors with Senior Night. It will be the final home game of the regular season for the Blugolds.
Follow the Blugolds all season long at Blugold Game Day or on our app, UWEC Blugolds.
