Pioneers pull off late road win at UW-Stevens Point

STEVENS POINT, Wis. – Another strong night and final minute 3-pointer by freshman Logan Pearson (Appleton, Wis.) grabbed the lead and the 74-72 win for the University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball team (2-1, 2-1 WIAC) over UW-Stevens Point (1-2, 1-2 WIAC) on Wednesday night.

Pearson had what looked like yet another veteran performance with 14 points, six rebounds, two assists, and one block. The final three of the freshman guard's 14 points fell when the Pioneers trailed 72-70 with 00:32 remaining in the game after falling to a Pointer second half 14-point scoring run.

"Typical UW-Platteville and UW-Stevens Point game and you're happy to get a W on the road any way you can," said head coach Jeff Gard. "I was happy to see our guys keep their composure and not press. Our team's cohesion showed tonight when our upperclassmen trusted some of the young guys to step up and hit some big shots."

Things started off more comfortable for the Pioneers as they took an early dominance in the game and capitalized on the Pointers' eight turnovers in the half to hold a 16-point lead over the home team with 2:26 remaining in the half.

UW-Platteville started the second half with a 41-30 advantage, but an early Pointer rally had the score locked at 43 by the 16:28 mark. From there on, UW-Stevens Point would pull away by as much as eight with six minutes remaining, but with just a minute left, Kyle Tuma (jr./Valders, Wis.) made both free throws to narrow the deficit to 72-70. A blocked Garrett Nelson shot by Pearson followed by a made 3-pointer gave the Pioneers the 73-72 lead with 00:32 remaining. 

A Pointer offensive foul drawn by Pearson returned possession to the Pioneers and one final free throw by Drew Gunnink (sr./Brandon, Wis.) gave the final 74-72 in favor of the Pioneers. 

The Pioneers have won six of the last seven meetings between the two teams and Wednesday night's win marks the third straight road win at UW-Stevens Point.

Overall, the Pioneers shot 47.4 percent (27-57) from the field, 38.5 percent (10-28) from 3-point territory, and made 10-14 (71.4 percent) of free throws.

The Pointers finished shooting 50 percent (24-48) from the field, 42.9 percent (9-21) from behind the 3-point arc, and were 15-19 (78.9 percent) from the free throw line.

Three Pioneers reached double digits including Pearson, Justin Stovall (sr./Chicago, Ill.) with 14 points, and Quentin Shields (sr./Chicago, Ill.) with 12 points. Tuma led the game with three steals.

UW-Stevens Point held the advantage with 35 rebounds to the Pioneers' 23, but 19 points off of 17 Pointer turnovers made way for a Pioneer road win.

The two teams will face each other once again on Friday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. on Bo Ryan Court.