Pioneers Soar Over Falcons in WIAC Semifinal

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball (7-2) will play for its third WIAC Championship (presented by Culver's) title at UW-La Crosse on Friday. The Pioneers advanced to their second tournament championship game in three seasons with Wednesday's 67-53 win over UW-River Falls (5-4) on Bo Ryan Court.

Both UW-Platteville of the East and UW-La Crosse of the West are the #1 seed of their divisions. After four tiebreaker scenarios, a coin toss was needed to determine Friday night's championship game host.

"Proud of our team's defensive effort especially against a great player like Ohde," said head coach Jeff Gard. "Happy for our seniors to have the opportunity to pursue another championship."

Justin Stovall (Sr./Chicago, Ill.) had a hot night dishing out 24 points to tie his career best along with five blocks and nine rebounds.  

Blake McCann (Jr./Janesville, Wis.) had a season best 14 points after missing much of the regular season due to injury.  Quentin Shields (Sr./Chicago, Ill.) had a game high seven assists setting up his fellow Pioneers while dropping in 10 points of his own.

Things started off at a slow pace with the Pioneers holding slim 7-6 lead at the first media timeout. UW-Platteville struggled all half from the three-point arc making just 1-of-9 attempts while the teams traded baskets for much of the half seeing seven lead changes and four ties. The teams remained tied 22-22 with 3:20 left in the frame.

Logan Pearson (Fr./Appleton, Wis.) with a layup set the tone for a late half 8-0 run to give the Pioneers momentum moving into the second half with a 30-22 lead over the Falcons.

The Falcons who were led by Alex Ohde made an early attempt to close the Pioneers' lead, but even without fans, Bo Ryan Court erupted and shook with a Stovall dunk overtop of River Falls' 6'5"Austin Werdin at 17:28. The Falcon answered back with a three-point of his own to close UW-Platteville's lead to 35-33 at the 16:43 mark.

The teams traded baskets once again to keep it roughly a two-possession lead for the Pioneers until the 8:00 mark where back to back fast breaks extended UW-Platteville's lead to 50-41. The Falcons were able to draw within four points, 55-51 with four minutes to go, but a 12-0 run over the next three minutes curtesy of Stovall, McCann, and Shields gave the Pioneers a 16-point differential with less than a minute remaining.  

The Falcons chipped in one final layup to give the final 67-53 and secure the Pioneers second trip to the WIAC Championship game in three seasons.

Overall, the Pioneers shot 45.3 percent (24-53) from the floor including 25 percent (5-20) from three-point territory. UW-Platteville made 87.5 percent (14-16) from the foul line. The Pioneers held UW-River Falls to 36.7 percent (22-60) from the field with 27.8 percent (5-18) from the beyond the three-point arc. The Falcons made 66.7 percent (4-6) of free throws.

Up next, UW-Platteville will travel to La Crosse for the second time in just over a week for the Championship game against the Eagles (8-2). UW-La Crosse took down UW-Stevens Point, 76-68, on Monday and defeated UW-Oshkosh Wednesday night 75-72. This will be UW-La Crosse's first appearance in the WIAC Championship game since they fell 83-68 to UW-Stevens Point on February 24, 2007.

Visit the WIAC Championship website by clicking here.