EDITOR'S NOTE: The Swnews4u.com Athlete of the Week is a web-only feature that will publish each Thursday or Friday throughout the calendar year.
By Jason Nihles, The Platteville Journal, Fennimore Times, Boscobel Dial
Logan Pearson, Sr., G, UW–Platteville men's basketball
Senior Logan Pearson became the Pioneers all-time leading scorer as the #1-ranked UW–Platteville men’s basketball team rallied from a nine-point second half deficit to beat UW–Eau Claire 79–68 on Wednesday night inside Williams Fieldhouse.
Pearson entered the contest needing 12 points to break the Pioneers’ career scoring record held by Mike Ehler, who scored 1,863 points from 1980–84.
With a jumper at the 17:50 mark of the second half, Pearson surpassed Ehler to become the all-time leading scorer, and he finished the contest with 21 points, putting him at a new program-high of 1,873 points.
Three other Pioneers joined Pearson in double figures in the win, with junior Joey Fuhremann putting together an efficient performance of 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting. Junior Max Love added 12 points, while senior Ben Probst knocked down a pair of first half threes to finish with 11 points.
Eau Claire (9–6, 1–3 WIAC) led for almost the entirety of the first half and took a slight 39–35 lead into the break while shooting 50.0 percent (16-of-32) from the floor. That lead grew to nine right out of halftime behind a quick three-point make and a layup, and the Blugolds maintained a multi-possession advantage until a five-point run by the Pioneers made it 50–48 with 14:29 to play.
Senior Brady Olson handed Platteville (15–1, 5–0 WIAC) its first lead since early in the first half with a three-point make following a Pearson pass with 8:36 remaining, but the two teams traded baskets for the ensuing minutes. Four free throw makes by junior Miles Hettinger put the Pioneers ahead for good with 7:36 on the clock, and a 10–2 run in favor of Platteville made it 75–66 with under four to play. Pearson scored the final four points for the Pioneers, and the defense held the Blugolds to just two points across the final four minutes.
Pearson and Fuhremann tied for the Pioneer lead in rebounds with six apiece, while Love dished out a team-high four assists. On the defensive end, Pearson came away with three steals.
HONORABLE MENTION (in alphabetical order):
Michael Esser, Sr., G, Highland boys basketball
Esser made 7 of 11 field goal attempts, including 4 of 7 3-point attempts, and finished with 21 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals in a great all-around game to lead the D5 #7-ranked Cardinals (12–1, 10–0 SRW) to an 85–72 win over #4-ranked River Ridge (12–2, 8–2). Esser then posted a double–double of 22 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists in a 73–57 win at Belmont Tuesday night.
Aiden Keleher, Jr., G, Southwestern boys basketball
Keleher made five 3-pointers and scored a game-high 21 points and had three assists to lead D5 #8-ranked Southwestern (13–3, 5–3 SWAL) to a a 79–77 upset of D4 No. 1 ranked and previously unbeaten Mineral Point (11–1, 7–1) last Friday night. Keleher also had 23 points, 5 assists and 4 steals in a 59–52 win at Fennimore last Tuesday, Jan. 14.
Laci Lindsey, Sr., G, Mineral Point girls basketball
Lindsey posted a double–double of 17 points and 12 rebounds to lead Mineral Point (12–5, 8–1 SWAL) a 68–62 SWAL win over D4 #2-ranked Cuba City (13–3, 8–1 SWAL) Tuesday night to force a tie for first-place in the SWAL girls basketballs standings. Lindsey made 11 of 17 field goal attempts, including 4 of 7 3-pointers, and scored a game-high 27 points in last Thursday's 66–29 SWAL win at Iowa–Grant.
Macie Noble, Sr., G, Platteville girls basketball
Noble caught fire at the right team making 5 of 8 3-point attempts and scored a season-high 15 points in D3 #7-ranked Platteville's (14–1, 6–0 SWC) 55–47 Southwest Wisconsin Conference win at D3 #5-ranked Prairie du Chien last Friday night, handing the Blackhawks (16–1, 5–1) their first loss of the season. Noble also made three 3-pointers and scored 11 points in Platteville's 64–46 non-conference win over Darlington.
Oliver Post, Sr., F, Potosi boys basketball
The lanky Potosi forward posted a double–double of 13 points and 11 rebounds to go with three assists and two steals in a 64–19 Six Rivers West win over Benton (1–12, 1–8 SRW) last Thursday night. Post then had perhaps his best game of the year this past Tuesday with 17 points and six rebounds to lead the Chieftains (10–2, 8–1) to a 58–55 win over D5 #4-ranked River Ridge (12–2, 8–2).
Myron Reuter, Jr., G, Platteville boys basketball
The shifty junior guard sliced and diced his way to a game-high 21 points on 7 of 15 shooting and 7 of 8 at the free throw line in Saturday's 81–61 non-conference victory over Madison Edgewood. Reuter also scored a career-high 28 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and had 2 assists in a 78–52 SWC win over visiting Dodgeville last Thursday night.
Owen Seffrood, Sr., 150 pounds, Darlington/Black Hawk wrestling
Black Hawk senior Owen Seffrood earned his 150th career win as a WarBird at last Saturday's River Valley Invitational. In the loss to the Golden Eagles, DBH actually claimed more wins overall. Seffrood and teammates Maddox Goebel (175) and Ross Crist (190) each won titles at River Valley as the WarBirds finish fifth with 91 points in the 8-team River Valley Invite on Saturday. Seffrood’s championship path opened with a bye, followed by a 2-minute pin, and a technical fall in the first place match. Goebel’s was similar. He followed a bye with a technical fall, then a decision in the first place match.
Gavin Vaassen, Sr., G, Cuba City boys basketball
Vaassen scored a career-high 31 points, including the game-winning scoop layup at the buzzer to lift Cuba City to a 60–58 SWAL victory over visiting D4 #9-ranked Darlington last Friday night. He also had seven rebounds in the win.
Ella Vosberg, Sr., F, Cuba City Girls basketball
Vosberg led the Cubans in scoring and rebounding for the host team with a 20-point, 12-rebound effort in a 69–23 win over Fennimore last Thursday night and became the 10th Cuba City girl to reach 1,000 career points. Vosberg also had another reason to celebrate — her scoring effort crossed her into the top-10 Cuba City all-time scoring list. At 1,000 career points on the dot, Vosberg passed 2007 graduate, Kaitlyn Pustina (991 pts), at 10th on the list and joined fellow senior Olivia Olson (2nd; 1,525 pts) on the all-time list.