Men's Basketball downs Falcons on Senior Night

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – Chas Cross recorded his fourth double-double of the season to lead the University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball team past UW-River Falls, 69-60, on Senior Night on Bo Ryan Court, Saturday. 

The senior from Winnebago, Ill., tallied a game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds. Cross was efficient on the offensive end, shooting 8-of-9, and dominated the defensive glass, grabbing nine boards. Junior Wes Nemitz gave the Pioneers a huge boost off the bench as he scored nine of his 14 points in a two-minute span. Sophomore Boston Johnson rounded out the Pioneers' top scorers with 16 points. 

The Falcons' Ollie White led the team with 19 points and eight rebounds, followed by Devin Buckley with 15 and Ben Gresmer with 13 points.

UWRF made seven of its nine shots to start the game, taking a 14-6 lead. The Pioneers used a 11-2 run, retaking the lead, 17-16, just under nine minutes into the game. UW-Platteville took its largest lead of the game on a three-point play by Jim Stocki, 31-24, with 3:10 left in the half. The Pioneers and the Falcons traded three-pointers in the final 10 seconds of the half as UW-Platteville took 36-33 lead into the break. 

UWRF made seven of its nine shots to start the game, taking a 14-6 lead. The Pioneers used a 11-2 run, gaining a 17-16 advantage, just under nine minutes into the game. UW-Platteville took its largest lead of the half on a three-point play by Jim Stocki, 31-24, with 3:10 left in the period. The Pioneers and the Falcons traded three-pointers in the final 10 seconds of the half as UW-Platteville took 36-33 lead into the break. 

Nemitz gave the Pioneers their largest lead of the game, 50-38, at the 13:53 mark. Falcons then answered with a six-minute 16-1 run, taking a 54-51 lead. Nemitz stopped the bleeding by drilling three consecutive three-pointers, giving the Pioneers a 60-57 advantage with 4:46 remaining. Gresmer made a three-pointer to make it a one-point game, 61-60, for UWRF's final field goal of the game with 2:46 to play. The Pioneers sealed the game by sinking all six of their free throws down the stretch. 

UW-Platteville ends the regular season tied for third with UW-La Crosse in the WIAC standings with a 10-6 record and move to 15-10 on the year. The Eagles win the tie-breaker and will be the three-seed in the WIAC Tournament.

The fourth-seeded Pioneers host UW-Stout on Wednesday at 7 p.m. for the first-round of the WIAC Championship.