After playing an aggressive man-to-man defense all night, Lancaster tried to catch Platteville off guard by playing zone for the final 1:44 of Friday’s SWC boys’ basketball game.
     It didn’t work.
     Trailing by a point Platteville calmly worked the ball side-to-side against the Arrows’ new 2–3 look and with a minute left senior guard Kevin Wruble buried an uncontested 3-pointer from the right wing that gave the Hillmen a two-point lead.
     After a Lancaster turnover, senior Nick Tashner made a pair of free throws with 22.2 seconds remaining to seal Platteville’s 42–38 victory. Junior Zach Hentrich missed two good looks from behind the arc in the closing seconds for Lancaster.
     “We just ran our basic zone offense with multiple ball reversals and we got Kevin an open look,” said Platteville head coach Mike Huser. “He stepped up and knocked it down and gave us the lead.
     “He’s excelled in that role all year, coming off the bench and providing scoring and outside shooting. All the kids and the entire coaching staff were real happy for him. That was a big shot.
     Winless Lancaster (0–8, 0–4 SWC) took a 38–35 lead on a pair of free throws by Winston Zenz with 2:31 remaining and appeared on the verge of its first victory of the year.
     Junior Adam Brogley scored on cutting layup with 1:53 left to cut Lancaster’s lead to one.
     On the Arrows’ next possession Platteville senior Derek Schambow drew a charge on Lancaster sophomore Brett Snider to set up Wruble’s heroics.
     With 1:44 remaining Lancaster switched its defense during a timeout.
     After Wruble’s triple, a miscommunication resulted in a Lancaster pass flying untouched into the first row of the bleachers.
     Tashner calmly knocked down the free throws to preserve the win.
     “Those were clutch,” said Huser. “The free throws really capped off an all-around great night for Nick.”
     Tashner finished the game with a game-high 15 points, eight steals and six rebounds.
     “He is really active on both ends of the floor and he anticipates so well,” added Huser. “He really played a fine all-around game.”
     Brogley added 10 points and six rebounds, and Wruble finished with six points on a pair of 3-pointers.
     Monday night the Hillmen battled undefeated Cuba City (12–0), the top-ranked team in Division 4, but fell short, 48–33, in a non-conference game at Platteville High School.
     Platteville twice cut the Cuban lead to six in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t complete the comeback.
     Senior Griffin Eckhardt scored 12 points to lead the Cubans.
     Schambow and Brogley had eight each for the Hillmen.

Platteville 42, Lancaster 38
(from Friday, Jan. 4 @ Platteville)
Lancaster    7    10     13     8     —  38
Platteville    6    10    16    10     —  42
Lancaster (0–8, 0-4) — Henrtich 3, Jerrett 2, B. Snider 13, Zenz 4, Budack 2, Tranel 10, Glass 4. Totals — 13 10-10 38.
Platteville (5–5, 1–3) — Derek Schambow 4, Nick Tashner 15, Kevin Wruble 6, Tanner Ames 5, Adam Brogley 10. Totals — 14 10-14 42.
3-point goals — L: 2 (Hentrich 1, B. Snider 1); P: 3 (Wruble 2, Tashner 1). Team fouls — L: n/a, P: n/a. Fouled out — none.

Cuba City 48, Platteville 33
(from Monday, Jan. 8 @ Platteville)
Cuba City    8    10    19    11     —  48
Platteville    8      7      7    11     —  33
Cuba City (12–0) — Slaats 9, Derby 3, Fridmodt 11, Meckstroth 4, Ganter 6, Eckhardt 12, Droessler 3. Totals — 22 4-14 48.
Platteville (5–6) — Derek Schambow 8, Nick Tashner 4, Kevin Wruble 3, Blake Wagner 4, Tanner Ames 6, Adam Brogley 8. Totals — 14 1-2 33.
3-point goals — CC: 0; P: 4 (Schambow 2, Tashner 1, Wruble 1). Team fouls — CC: 11, P: 11. Fouled out — none.