Pioneers start hot and hang on against Pointers

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – University of Wisconsin-Platteville men’s basketball (3-1, 3-1 WIAC) held on Friday night to defeat the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (1-3, 1-3 WIAC) 73-68 on Bo Ryan Court.

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Pioneers start hot and hang on against Pointers
February 12, 2021

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. –  University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball (3-1, 3-1 WIAC) held on Friday night to defeat the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (1-3, 1-3 WIAC) 73-68 on Bo Ryan Court.

The Pioneers had built a 15-point lead with just shy of three minutes remaining in the first half.  Ten of 16 points on the night for Drew Gunnink (Sr. / Brandon, Wis.) fell in the first half and the Pioneers led 38-33 going into the locker room at halftime. The lead turned out to be just enough as both teams would go on to tally 35 points in the second half.

"Proud of our guys the way they finished tonight," said head coach Jeff Gard. "We had defensive stops when we needed them, and then we finished out the game from the free throw line. That's been something we've been struggling with as of late."

Quentin Shields (Sr. / Chicago, Ill.) racked up 15 points, three assists, and went 9-12 from the free throw line. Teammate Justin Stovall  (Sr. / Chicago, Ill.) tallied 13 points and two assists while both Pioneers pulled down seven rebounds apiece.  

Though the Pioneers never trailed Friday night, UW-Stevens Point was able to get within one-point of the Pioneers four times throughout the second half, lastly with 00:29 remaining in the game.  Gunnink sank two free throws followed by two more from Shields to give the final 73-68.

The Pioneers finished the night shooting 45.5 percent (25-55) from the floor, 21.7 percent (5-23) from 3-point territory, and 81.8 percent (18-22) from the foul line.

The Pointers were led by Philip Flory (Jr. / Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) who accounted for 23 points for UW-Stevens Point. Overall, the Pointers shot 41.4 percent (24-58) from the field, 30 percent (9-30) from the 3-point arc, and 84.6 percent (11-13) from the free throw line.

In all, UW-Platteville held the advantage in total rebounds (35-31) and turnovers (7-11) against UW-Stevens Point.

Friday's game is available on-demand at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/uwplatt/ 

The Pioneers will return to action next Wednesday, Feb. 17 when they travel to conference rival, UW-Whitewater, for game one of the week at 7 p.m.