Pioneers Advance to WIAC Championship Game
LA CROSSE, Wis. - The UW-Platteville men’s basketball team defeated UW-La Crosse by a score of 61-51. With the win the Pioneers move on to face UW-Stevens Point in the WIAC Championship game with a chance to secure a bid in the NCAA Tournament.
LA CROSSE, Wis. - The UW-Platteville men's basketball team defeated UW-La Crosse by a score of 61-51. With the win the Pioneers move on to face UW-Stevens Point in the WIAC Championship game with a chance to secure a bid in the NCAA Tournament.
The Pioneers defense came to play once again. The 51 points given up was the lowest amount of points La Crosse had scored all year and 18 points below their average. The Eagles shot 39.3% from the field and 23.5% from the three-point line. The Pioneers did a great job of playing great defense without fouling as the Eagles only shot 5 total free throws throughout the game and Platteville shot 21. Platteville did a great job dominating the boards as they outrebounded La Crosse 44-28. The Pioneers had 16 second chance points to the Eagles 0. The defense has guided this team to the WIAC Championship.
The Pioneers offensively were led by senior Robert Duax who scored 16 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. Sophomore Quentin Shields scored 15 points on 6-8 shooting and grabbed 6 rebounds. Senior Clay Gerds finished with a double-double, 10 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore Alex Ranney had a nice game off the bench hitting timely three-pointers. He finished with 11 points.
The Pioneers will return to action Saturday Feb. 23 at 5 p.m. against UW-Stevens Point in the WIAC men's basketball championship game. The game will be held on Bo Ryan Court in Williams Fieldhouse.