No. 4 Pioneers defeat No. 8 Eagles in WIAC battle royale

Photo provided by Jim Lund

LA CROSSE, Wis. – The #4 nationally ranked University of Wisconsin-Platteville Pioneers earned a 73-67 win on the road Wednesday night in the highly anticipated Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener at #8 nationally ranked University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. The battle between two 7-0 conference foes saw 12 lead changes and a tied score at the half.

Having last met in the 2021 WIAC Championship Final where the Pioneers (8-0, 1-0 WIAC) won 74-47, UW-Platteville took its final lead in Mitchell Hall midway through the second half off an 11-0 run. The Pioneers held a two-possession advantage over the Eagles (7-1, 0-1 WIAC) for the remainder of the game. UW-Platteville finished the second half 12-of-15 (80 percent) from the foul line, taking 13 more shots than UW-La Crosse from the foul line in the contest.

"Getting a win on the road in the WIAC is never easy," said head coach Jeff Gard after the game. "I thought we settled down and got back to Pioneer basketball in the second half. I felt the biggest difference between the two halves was our offensive execution – only two turnovers and made free throws allowed us to get set defensively."

Quentin Shields (Sr./Chicago, Ill.) and Kyle Tuma (Sr./Valders, Wis.) both recorded big games with Shields putting up a team-high 22 points while Tuma added 19. Together they were 15-of-16 from the free throw line.

The Pioneers jumped out to a 21-10 lead midway through the first half, but UW-La Crosse rallied and evened the score 23-23 over the next three minutes. While UW-Platteville shot 52.2 percent (12-of-23) from the floor, were 3-of-7 from three-point territory and made 5-of-6 free throws, the Pioneers turned the ball over nine times over the course of the first half, resulting in the 32-32 tie at halftime. The Eagles shot 41.9 percent (13-of-31), were 4-of-14 (28.6 percent) and 2-of-2 from the free throw line.

The conference rivals returned from halftime and exchanged the lead six times in the first five minutes of the next half. Around the midway point, Tuma's second chance layup sparked an 11-0 Pioneer run to take the lead for good.

UW-Platteville led 62-54 with three minutes to go in regulation and although the Eagles drew in as close as four-points with 0:11 on the clock, the Pioneers were a perfect 10-of-10 in free throws in the final three minutes of the game to protect their undefeated record.

Justin Stovall (Sr./Chicago, Ill.) registered the sole double-double of the evening, tallying 10 points and 10 rebounds. Overall, UW-Platteville outrebounded the Eagles 38-25.

Ethan Anderson recorded a game-high 23 points for UW-La Crosse.

Overall, the Pioneers shot 48.1 percent (25-of-52) from the field, were 6-of-20 (30.0 percent) from beyond the three-point arc and made 17-of-21 (81 percent) free throws. The Eagles finished 44.8 percent (26-of-58) from the field, 40.9 percent (9-of-22) from three-point territory and 75 percent (6-of-8) from the foul line.

As of Wednesday night, UW-Platteville is one of two teams in NCAA DIII with at least eight wins and no losses. Yeshiva University, ranked #1 nationally, holds a 9-0 record after an 80-66 win of their own over Farmingdale State on Wednesday night.

UW-Platteville will return to action and Bo Ryan Court on Saturday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. when UW-River Falls rolls into town.