Pioneers soar past Falcons at the buzzer

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball team defeated University of Wisconsin-River Falls by a score of 57-54 on Saturday night. With the win the Pioneers improve to 14-9 and 7-5 in WIAC play.

The Pioneers got off to a bit of a slow start on the road but quickly turned up the defensive intensity forcing 11 first half River Fall turnovers. River Falls shot only 28.6% from the three-point line in the first half mostly because of the great hustle and shot defense by the Pioneers. For the game the Pioneers defense held River Falls to only 39.6% shooting from the field and 27.3% from the three-point line. Also, the Pioneers forced 20 River Fall turnovers for the game which led to 23 points off turnovers for the Pioneers.

The game was a close one throughout with 9 ties and 7 lead changes. With a late layup by River Falls to tie the score at 54-54 with 4 seconds left the Pioneers had one chance to win the game. Sophomore Quentin Shields drove the ball and pitched it to junior Carter Voelker who then took two dribbles and swished home a 26-foot three-pointer as the buzzer went off. The Pioneers were led offensively by senior Robert Duax who finished with 25 points on 8-19 shooting from the field and 5-10 from the three-point line. For the week Duax finished averaging a stellar 30 points after his 35-point performance earlier in the week. Junior Carter Voelker chipped in 11 points and 7 rebounds but most importantly the game winning shot to keep pace for third in the WIAC.

The Pioneers return to action Wednesday, Feb. 13 at  7 p.m. at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.