LANCASTER — The Platteville boys basketball team broke into the win column Thursday night with a 60–50 come-from-behind victory over Lancaster in the Southwest Wisconsin Conference opener for both teams.
Junior guard Braden Nies scored a game-high 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the comeback, as Platteville outscored the host Arrows 39–24 in the second half.
The Hillmen trailed by as many as eight points in the first half, but Nies scored Platteville’s final five points of the half, including a momentum-boosting three-pointer at the buzzer that cut the deficit to five at 26–21 going into the locker room.
Nies hit a pull-up jumper 10 seconds into the second half, then made a nice running floater in the lane to give Platteville its first lead since the early going at 29–28 with 15:04 left.
Senior Mitch Knockel scored back-to-back baskets in the post and sophomore Donovan Blevins scored a driving layup to extend the lead to 37–30.
Lancaster (2–1, 0–1) pulled within four with just over nine minutes remaining, but senior Cody Schambow came up with a steal and a breakaway layup and junior Chase Bellmeyer made a three-pointer from the left wing to keep the Arrows at bay. Platteville then made 14 of 20 free throw attempts in the final 4:13 to ice the game.
“We were much more aggressive in the second half getting into the lane with penetration by our guards and post touches,” said Platteville head coach Mike Huser. “Nies and Blevins were able to get to the rim and finish shots, that in return opened up our post players a bit more. Defensively, we were able to limit Lancaster to very few paint touches in the second half and it was something the coaches challenged the kids to do at halftime and it paid dividends in a big way in the second half.”
Knockel finished with 12 points and six rebounds. Blevins added nine points and a team-high 10 boards.
Monday night, Iowa–Grant’s Isaac Anderson scored a game-high 20 points to lead the Panthers to a 59–38 non-conference win over Platteville (1–4).
Last Tuesday, the Hillmen suffered a 70–28 blowout loss to visiting Mount Horeb.
Platteville will host Dodgeville (3–1, 0–1 SWC) Friday night at 7:30 p.m.
Mount Horeb 70, Platteville 28
(from Tuesday, Dec. 8 @ Platteville)
Mount Horeb 38 32 — 70
Platteville 14 14 — 28
Mount Horeb (1–2) — Rose 4, Arneson 2, Murray 2, Nesheim 19, Stecklein 6, Holum 4, Krueger 4, Kracthowill 2, Meylor 16, Northman 5, Ryan 4. Totals — 22 17-25 70.
Platteville (0–3) — Mitch Knockel 2, Jason Withrow 2, Braden Nies 9, Cody Schambow 4, Chase Bellmeyer 8, Donovan Blevins 3. Totals — 7 8-14 70.
3-point goals — MH: 3 (Meylor 2, Northman 1); P: 2 (Nies 1, Bellmeyer 1). Team fouls — MH: 18; P: 17. Fouled out — none.
Platteville 60, Lancaster 50
(from Thursday, Dec. 10 @ Lancaster)
Platteville 21 39 — 60
Lancaster 26 24 — 50
Platteville (1–3, 1–0) — Mitch Knockel 12, Jason Withrow 4, Braden Nies 21, Cody Schambow 7, Chase Bellmeyer 7, Donovan Blevins 9. Totals — 18 21-33 60.
Lancaster (2–1, 0–1) — Tanner Reuter 12, Drew Reuter 3, Will Uppena 8, Larry Moore 2, Joey Recker 3, Jayson Jones 19. Totals — 18 8-16 50.
3-point goals — P: 2 (Nies 1, Bellmeyer 1); L: 2 (Jones 1, Reuter 1). Team fouls — P: 15; L: 22. Fouled out — L: Recker, Josh Hentrich.
Iowa–Grant 59, Platteville 38
(from Monday, Dec. 14 @ Livingston)
Platteville 19 19 — 38
Iowa–Grant 26 33 — 59
Platteville (1–4) — Mitch Knockel 5, Jason Withrow 7, Braden Nies 11, Cody Schambow 2, Colin Thiele 1, Cole Haas 2, Chase Belmeyer 4, Blake Noel 2, Donovan Blevins 4. Totals — 15 6-18 38.
Iowa–Grant (4–1) — Jack Reeves 9, Brayden Johnson 10, Isaac Anderson 20, Payton Simon 1, Caleb Hill 5, Chad Thomas 4, Brent Coppernoll 2, Sawyer Stuckey 2, Charlie Richards 6. Totals — 24 8-12 38.
3-point goals — P: 2 (Nies 2); IG: 3 (Anderson 1, Richards 2). Team fouls — P: 16, IG: 19. Fouled out — P: Bellmeyer.
