Men's Basketball routs UW-Eau Claire, 60-34

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – Chas Cross set a new school career blocks record, en route to the University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball team rolling over UW-Eau Claire, 60-34, on Wednesday night on Bo Ryan Court. 

The senior from Winnebago, Ill. swatted three shots for a total of 131 career blocks, surpassing former All-American Jeff Skemp. Cross also netted 11 points and grabbed five rebounds. Junior Jake Manning led the Pioneer scorers for the second-straight game with 13 points and added seven rebounds. Classmate Jim Stocki made four three-pointers for 12 points.  Senior Eric "Skip" Gerber orchestrated the Pioneer offense as he dished out six assists without a turnover. 

Adam Hjelter led the Blugolds with 10 points, followed by Kurtis Moody with eight. 

UW-Eau Claire jumped out to a quick 4-2 lead, before the Pioneers went on to score eight unanswered. The Pioneers then used an 18-0 run, blowing the game wide-open, 29-9 with 5:42 till halftime. UW-Platteville led by as many as 25 in the first period and took a 36-15 advantage into the locker room. The Pioneers dominated the paint, out scoring UWEC 18-2, and out scored the Blugolds 9-0 off turnovers. 

UW-Platteville continued its clean play in the second half and only turned the ball over twice for a total of four turnovers. The Pioneers pushed their lead to a game-high 28 points and cruised to a 60-34 victory. 

With the win, the Pioneers (13-10, 9-6 WIAC) clinch the four-seed in the WIAC Tournament. UW-Platteville will host a first-round contest on Wednesday, Feb. 26 with its opponent to be determined on Saturday. 

UW-Platteville will honor two seniors on Saturday when the Pioneers host UW-River Falls at 7 p.m.