Beavers setback No. 20 Men's Basketball

STORM LAKE, Iowa – Hot second half shooting by Buena Vista setback the 20th-ranked University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball team, 98-80, Saturday at Siebens Fieldhouse. 

The Beavers shot a stellar 65.4 percent in the second half and also used 40 points from the bench to hand the Pioneers (4-2) their second straight loss. 

BV had five players score in double figures and were led by Nick Clark with 20 points, who came off the bench. Cole Darrow added 18 and Alex Savage netted 15 points. 

Sophomore Boston Johnson scored a career-high and team-best 17 points, while Eric "Skip" Gerber added 16 points. Senior Chas Cross recorded his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds. 

The Pioneers took a quick 16-7 lead but couldn't sustain the lead as the Beavers tied it up, 19-19, with 10:28 left in the frist half. BV finished the last 2:28 of the half on a 10-3 run and took a 38-31 lead into intermission. 

The Beavers made four three-points in a two-minute span midway through the second half, helping take their largest lead of the game, 70-48, with 11:40 to play. The Pioneers managed to cut their deficit to 14 points, 80-66, with just under four minutes left in the game.  The Beavers stopped the Pioneers potentioal comeback by making 12 of 14 free throws in the final four minutes, sealing the 98-80 victory. 

The Pioneers open conference play on Wednesday when they host UW-Oshkosh at 7 p.m.