Pioneers win fourth straight

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville continued their hot start to the season with an 85-60 win over Hope College, who made it to the third round of the NCAA tournament last year.

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Pioneers win fourth straight
December 8, 2017

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville continued their hot start to the season with an 85-60 win over Hope College, who made it to the third round of the NCAA tournament last season.

The Pioneers (7-1) and Flying Dutchmen (3-3) battled early on, but UW-Platteville took off on an 18-0 run midway through the first half for a 31-13 advantage. The run was sparked by great defense and the combination of Robert Duax and Quentin Shields. The duo scored 15 of those 18 Pioneer points.

However, the Flying Dutchmen finished the final eight minutes strong to pull within 31-40 at halftime.

A trio of jumpers, one by Shields and two by Clay Gerds, took the UW-Platteville lead to 46-31. Hope pulled within 11 with just over 11 minutes left in the game, but were never able to make a push to narrow the gap further. Over the final nine minutes the Pioneers pulled away for their 85-60 victory.

Duax had a season high 21 points and topped the Pioneers in rebounds with 7. Shields put together a great all-around performance with a career high 17 points and 4 steals. Together, UW-Platteville shot 46.9 percent from the field.

Jeff Goral led Hope College with 13 points while Teddy Ray recorded a double-double on 10 points and 10 rebounds.

UW-Platteville has the week off before continuing their non-conference schedule Saturday, Dec. 16 at Coe College. Tip-off is 1 p.m. inside Eby Fieldhouse.