Men's Hoops cruises past UW-Eau Claire

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball team moved to 3-0 in the conference play after beating UW-Eau Claire, 71-56, in Zorn Arena on Wednesday.

Sophomore Boston Johnson led all scorers and netted a career-high 23 points. The Oshkosh, Wis. native, was an efficient 7-for-11 from the field and was a perfect 7-for-7 at the free throw line. Junior Jim Stocki added 11 points, while seniors Chas Cross and Eric "Skip" Gerber each scored nine points. 

The Blugolds were led by Kurtis Moody with 12 points, followed by Lewis Mau with 11 and Adam Hjelters with 10.

Johnson scored 11 of the Pioneers first 15 points, giving UW-Platteville a 15-9 lead with 13:40 left in the half. The Pioneers went on to make their next seven field goals to go up 32-13 with just over seven minute till halftime. UW-Platteville finished the half shooting 63 percent and took a 42-22 halftime lead.

The Pioneers held UWEC to under 30 points through the first seven minutes of the second half, taking their largest lead of the game 59-26. Up by 28 with six minutes to play, the Pioneers cruised to a 71-56 victory. 

UW-Platteville stays on the road with a non-conference contest at Carthage on Saturday at 7 p.m.