Stovall’s and Tuma’s double-doubles power Pioneers past Falcons

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – Both Justin Stovall (Sr. / Chicago, Ill.) and Kyle Tuma (Sr. / Valders, Wis.) recorded double-doubles in #5 ranked University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball's 83-67 win over Concordia Wisconsin. The last time these two teams faced off, the Pioneers (4-0) eliminated the Falcons (1-3) in the First Round of the 2020 NCAA Tournament.  

"It was a collective team effort against an NCAA Tournament team," said head coach Jeff Gard. "It was great to see the team rally behind each other and watch guys have each other's backs. We know we have some things to clean up, but that's why we play these games, to prepare ourselves for WIAC competition."

In the first half, it was Ben Probst (So. / Madison, Wis.) who went 3-of-4 from three-point territory and tallied a team high nine points. While the Pioneers were first out of the gates and pulled out to a 13-4 lead six minutes into the game, the Falcons went on an eight-point run and took a 25-24 lead with five minutes remaining in the half.

After the game was knotted 30-30 with 1:35 remaining in the half, a jumper by Tuma gave UW-Platteville a two-point lead with 0:56 to go. Tuma followed that with a timely block against former teammate Samuel Meerstein with just enough time for Probst to drop in his third three-point basket of the half as the final seconds ticked away.

Leading 35-30 at the start of the second half, four Pioneers took turns building a 12-point lead within the first three minutes. UW-Platteville didn't stop though, and a three-pointer by Stovall marked the Pioneers' largest lead of the night, 72-51, with just under seven minutes left in the game. Concordia drew within nine with 1:27 on the clock, but Tuma and Quentin Shields (Sr. / Chicago, Ill.) finished the night's scoring for the 83-67 victory.

Stovall wraped up with a season high 22 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 8-of-9 from the field. Wednesday marked Tuma's third double-double of the season as the Pioneer ended with 19 points and 11 boards.

Probst finished with 12 points while Blake McCann also hit double figures with 10 points. Shields had a team-high five assists.

Overall, the Pioneers finished 47.6 percent (30-of-63) from the floor, 8-of-25 (32 percent) from beyond the three-point arc and 15-of-23 (65.2 percent) from the free-throw line.

The Falcons finished 40.3 percent (25-62) from the field, 23.8 percent (5-of-21) from three-point territory and 75 percent (12-of-16) from the free throw line.

The Pioneers will hit the road for their first away contest of the season on Saturday, Nov. 20. UW-Platteville will visit Concordia Chicago with game time set for 4:30 p.m. in Geiseman Gymnasium.