No. 9 UW-Whitewater Goes on 9-0 Run to Start Second Half En Route to 75-70 Win Over UW-Platteville

A 9-0 run to start the second half propelled host UW-Whitewater to a 75-70 win over the University of Wisconsin-Platteville men’s basketball team.

The Pioneers (9-7, 3-4 WIAC) led at the halftime break, 36-34, on the strength of 10 points by senior Matt Weik. It marked the third-straight game that UW-Platteville had led at the intermission.

The Warhawks (14-1, 5-1 WIAC) came into the game ranked No. 9 in the D3hoops.com poll rallied from the halftime deficit and never trailed for the rest of the contest for the win. In the victory, Chris Davis had a double double with a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds to lead UW-Whitewater. He was joined in double figures by Quardell Young, who added 14 and Eric Bryson, Luke Knoble and Alex Edmunds each scored 10.

UW-Platteville senior Brett Stangel led the Pioneers with 19 points and Weik finished the contest with 13 to join him in double figures.

Bryson hit his second 3 pointer of the half for UW-Whitewater to tie the game for the third time at 34 with 1:47 to play in the first half. Two possessions later, sophomore Eric Gerber put the Pioneers ahead by two with a pair of free throws with 34 seconds left in the first 20 minutes.

Coming out of the halftime break, UW-Whitewater tied it for the fourth and final time when Davis made two free throws on the Warhawks’ first possession of the second half. Then, Young made back-to-back layups that put the home team ahead for the first time since the 4:50 mark of the first half and for the rest of the contest.

With a 66-54 deficit, the Pioneers failed to concede as they came back with a 9-0 spurt to cut the deficit to three with 2:17 to go.

Eventually, UW-Platteville cut the lead to two, 72-70, when senior B.J. Litz hit a 3 pointer with 23 seconds to go. Forced to foul, Davis made a pair of free throws for the Warhawks to extend the lead back to four and the Pioneers would draw no closer.

The Pioneers will next be in action on Wednesday, Jan. 18 when they host UW-Stevens Point for a 7 p.m. matchup at Bo Ryan Court.