Pioneers smother visiting Luther in season opener 69–39

PLATTEVILLE — UW–Platteville head coach Jeff Gard has to be pleased with his team's defensive effort and intensity in Tuesday's regular season opener against Luther College.

Gard's Pioneers were relentless on the defensive end, holding the visiting Norse to just 22 percent shooting while converting 10 steals into 19 points off turnovers in a dominant 69–39 non-conference victory.

Junior guard Matt Oestreich (Marshfield) led the way with a team-high 13 points on 5 of 7 shooting, including a sweet left-handed breakaway dunk with 7:12 left in the first half to cap a 7–0 Pioneer run and give the home team a 20–11 lead.

Senior forward Cory Vaassen (Dickeyville/Cuba City) scored the game's first five points on a pair of layups and a free throw and the Pioneers never trailed. Vaassen finished with seven points and team-high seven rebounds.

Sophomore center Clay Gerds (Fort Atkinson) added 10 points, six rebounds and two assists in his first collegiate start. 

Fellow sophomore Robert Duax (Dubuque, Iowa/Hempstead) was a jack-of-all-trades, filling up the box score with 10 points, six boards, a team-high five assists and a team-best three steals. Duax and junior guard Trey Sigel (Rock Island, Ill.) hit back-to-back threes late in the first half and Duax added a layup to give the Pioneers a 34–18 lead heading into halftime. 

Duax then hit another triple on the first possession of the second half to ignite a 12–0 UW–Platteville run to push the lead to 46–18 just four minutes into the second half.

The Pioneers (1–0) shot 46.4 percent (26-for-56) for the game, including 38.1 percent (8-for-21) from behind the arc, and assisted on 17 of their 26 made baskets. They also outrebounded the Norse 37–29.

Jared Nicolaisen had eight points and two rebounds to lead the Norse, who opened the season 0–1.

UW–Platteville returns to action Friday night when they host Lindsey Wilson College (KY.) at 7 p.m. in the Gabe Miller Pioneer Tip-off Classic. The high-scoring Blue Raiders are off to a 7–1 start and are averging 84.9 points per game.

UW–Whitewater faces Colorado College in the first game of the tournament, Friday at 5 p.m. The Pioneers will host Colorado College (0–1) at 7 p.m. Saturday in the final game of the Tip-off Classic.

By Jason Nihles, UW–Platteville Athletics