Pioneers cruise to 83-44 win over Blackburn in season opener

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The #5 ranked University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball team broke out to a double-digit lead seven minutes into the game and never looked back, comfortably defeating Blackburn College 83-44 in the season opener on Bo Ryan Court.

The Pioneers (1-0) led by 22 points at the half and saw their biggest lead of 42 near the end of the battle between reigning conference champions. UW-Platteville held Blackburn (0-2) to 29.8 percent shooting and devastated the visitors on the glass, outrebounding 49-29. The advantages continued for the Pioneers with points off turnovers (25-7) and fast-break points (19-4).

"If the pandemic has taught us anything it's not to take a day or moment for granted," head coach Jeff Gard said after the game. "I was pleased with how our guys competed defensively and rose up to the challenges we placed on ourselves within the game. This year we've really taken the approach of playing against the 'inner scoreboard' rather than the 'outer scoreboard' meaning that we have to continue to play to our expectations every single possession."

Kyle Tuma (Sr./ Valders, Wis.) posted the first double-double of the season with team high 15 points and 12 rebounds. Tuma added two blocks and an assist to the stat sheet.

Three more Pioneers finished in double figures with Blake McCann (Sr. / Janesville, Wis. ) scoring 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, Quentin Sheilds (Sr. / Chicago, Ill.) posting 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting and Logan Pearson (So. / Appleton, Wis. ) finishing with 10 points on 5-of-10 shooting. McCann tallied a game high four assists while Pearson captured a game-high five steals.

Blackburn held its only lead of the day in the first minutes of the game, follow first basket of the night. Jarrius Burnett led the Beavers with nine points on 4-of-12 shooting while Kevin Hubbard Jr. pulled down a team-high seven boards.

Overall, the Pioneers shot 47.8 percent (32-of-67) from the field, 20.0 percent (4-of-20) from behind the 3-point arc and were 15-of-17 (88.2 percent) from the free throw line.

The Beavers finished 13.8 percent (4-of-29) from 3-point territory and were 50 percent (6-of-12) from the free throw line.

After playing the entirety of the condensed 2020-21 season in an empty gym, UW-Platteville welcomed back fans to Pioneer basketball for the first time since March of 2020.

"The biggest win of the night was having our fans back in the stands," said Gard. "Last year Jon [Satterlee] did all he could to bring some energy to Bo Ryan Court, but it's obvious that his energy from intros to the final horn got our student section and fan base excited to be back in the building."

UW-Platteville will return to action and Bo Ryan Court on Friday, Nov. 12 for the Gabe Miller Classic. The Pioneers will play #19 ranked Witworth University out of Spokane, Wash. at 7 p.m.