Men’s Basketball Routs UW-River Falls in WIAC Opener, 74-48

RIVER FALLS, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball jumped right back to its winning ways as they routed UW-River Falls, 74-48, in the Pioneers' Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) opener on Saturday afternoon at Karges Center.

The Pioneers (6-1, 1-0 WIAC) tallied four double-digit scorers, led by junior Chas Cross with a season-high 21 points and seven rebounds. Sophmore Trevor Wittwer scored a career-high 14 points, while senior Rob Stallion was a rebound away from a his first double-double of the season with 10 points and nine boards. Sophomore Jim Stocki rounded out the Pioneers' top scorers with 11 points, six rebounds and four assists.

Ollie White led UW-River Falls (3-3, 0-1 WIAC) with 12 points and eight boards, followed by Arik Smith with eight points and three assists.

The Pioneers took a 16-14 lead just under ten minutes left in the first half and would end the half on 17-5 run to take a 33-19 advantage into the break. For the fourth time this season, UW-Platteville has held its opponent to under 22 points in the first-half and limited the Falcons to 7-22 (31.8%) from the floor. 

In the second-half, the Pioneers didn't let up on the Falcons and took a 21 point lead, 43-22, at the 15:28 mark on Stallion layup. UW-River Falls were unable to make a run as the Pioneers kept their lead to at least 18 points, and grabbed their largest lead of the game of 27 points, 72-45, with 1:17 left to play.

The Pioneers continue conference play on Wednesday when they welcome UW-Eau Claire to Bo Ryan Court at 7 p.m.