On Saturday afternoon, the Yellowjackets went on the road and picked up their first conference win of the year.  And they did it in dramatic fashion.  Jake Smith (Rhinelander, Wis.) showed why he is one of the most dynamic and best all-around players in the country, scoring a game-high 29 points, the final two coming in the last second of overtime, as Yellowjackets won by the tightest of margins, 80-79 over UW-Platteville.

The Pioneers hit a pair of free throws off of a Smith foul to take a 79-78 lead with four seconds to play in the overtime.  Following a timeout and an inbounds pass, Trent Davis (Apple Valley, Minn.) fed Smith who drained a jump shot as time expired to give the Yellowjackets the win.

The Yellowjackets jumped out early, building a lead as large as 11 points and went into halftime leading 37-32.  Smith and Greg Roeder (Mercer, Wis.) each had nine points in the first half.  The Yellowjackets would stretch the lead in the second half, and build the margin to nine points with just over five minutes to play.  The lead was seven with 2:15 to play when four straight fouls called on the Yellowjackets allowed the Pioneers to close the gap.  A free throw with six seconds left tied the game at 70-70, forcing overtime.

In overtime, the Pioneers would twice hold a three-point lead, but the 'Jackets rallied and put the game away on Smith's dramatic final shot.  Smith also pulled down 11 rebounds, which led the team, dished out three assists and had two blocked shots.  Dan Culy (Rice Lake, Wis.) added 15 points and Roeder finished with 13 points for the Yellowjackets, who shot 50% from the field, including going 8-17 from three-point range. 

Rick Allen led Platteville with 20 points.  The Pioneers had a strong bench in the game, as the reserves accounted for 37 points.