Manning's career night leads Pioneers past UW-Superior

SUPERIOR, Wis. -- The Pioneers never trailed on Wednesday night as the University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball teams earned a 92-77 road win over UW-Superior. 

Senior Jake Manning scored the game's first basket and went on to end his night with a career-high 31 points. He made 12-of-17 from the field and grabbed 12 rebounds to register his second double-double of the season. 

With a 25-15 lead at the 8:43 mark, the Pioneers used a two-minute 10-1 run to take a commanding 19-point lead, 35-16. UW-Platteville closed out the final four minutes of the first half with a 13-2 run, pushing its lead to 29 points, 52-23 at intermission. 

The Pioneers shot a season-best 74 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes and also were a perfect 6-for-6 from beyond the arc. UW-Platteville held the Yellowjackets to just 25 percent from the floor in the first half. 

A steal and layup by Boston Johnson gave the Pioneers their largest lead of the game, 60-25, with 18:10 left in the second half. The Yellowjackets managed to whittle the Pioneer lead down to 12 points, 69-57, with 8:55 remaining. 

UW-Platteville didn't make a field goal in the final 4:55 of game, but made all 10 of their free throws to hold on to a 92-77 victory. 

Freshman Trey Sigel was a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range, giving the Pioneers a 14-point boost off the bench. Jim Stocki recorded 13 points and five assists, while Cory Vaassen rounded out the Pioneer double-digit scorers with 12 points.

The Pioneers return to Bo Ryan Court on Wednesday, Jan. 14 when they host UW-Eau Claire at 7 p.m.