Pioneers hold off River Falls

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The No. 4 nationally ranked University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball team improved to 9-0 overall and 2-0 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with a hard fought 74-59 win over the University of Wisconsin-River Falls (5-4, 0-2 WIAC). Both Kyle Tuma (Sr./Valders, Wis.) and Justin Stovall (Sr./Chicago, Ill.) registered double-doubles while Logan Pearson (So./Appleton, Wis.) recorded a career-best 22 points Saturday night on Bo Ryan Court.

The Falcons came to play and made it known early, making seven three-point shots in the first half alone. Five of the seven made dropped in during the first 10 minutes of the game for the Falcons to take an 18-13 lead.

A UW-River Falls timeout at the five-minute mark reset the home squad as they trailed the Falcons 25-22 and started a 10-0 run that concluded with Stovall registering four rebounds while making two layups and a jump shot.

After the run, the Pioneers had turned the table and led 32-25 with a minute remaining in the half. In fitting fashion, the Falcons added one final three-point basket at the 0:41 mark to send the teams into halftime, 32-28 in favor of UW-Platteville.

Noah Hanson was the leading threat, going 3-of-7 from the three-point arc and finishing the half with 10 points for River Falls.

The Falcons tied the game 34-34 two minutes into the second half, but a Blake McCann (Sr./Janesville) dunk from Quintin Shields (Sr./Chicago, Ill.) off a River Falls turnover not only brought Williams Fieldhouse to its feet, but marked the moment the Pioneers would take the lead for the final time of the night.

The Pioneers' defense calmed the Falcons' first half shooting just minutes into the second half. UW-Platteville's lead hit double-digits at the 12:28 mark which was also in the middle of Tuma scoring eight straight for the Pioneers. The senior's hot streak was brought to an abrupt stop as the Pioneers drew his fourth foul with over 10 minutes to go.

As UW-Platteville continued to pull away and with four Pioneers hitting double-digits on the night, the team built up its best lead of 74-56 by the end of the night with just 0:26 on the clock.

Pearson finished with a team-high 22 points while Tuma tallied 15 in addition to 11 rebounds. Stovall finished with 12 points and 11 boards while Shields added 12 of his own and a team-high five assists. McCann was just one away, finishing with nine points.

Hanson added two more threes in the second half to finish with 22 points for the Falcons.

The Pioneers finished shooting 41.8 percent (28-of-67) from the floor, 31.3 percent (5-of-16) from three-point territory and 76.5 percent (13-of-17) from the foul line. UW-River Falls finished shooting 36.8 percent (21-of-57) from the field, 35.7 percent (10-of-28) from the three-point arc and 70 percent (7-of-10) from the free throw line.

"We fell short on a number of things in the first half, but we really settled down in the second half, did things defensively and started playing Pioneer basketball," head coach Jeff Gard said following the game. "I'm so proud of these guys, and they all continue to set up at different times for eachother. They are a very unselfish group and distribute the basketball."

Tuma's double-double marks six this season and ties the Pioneer for second most in the nation. UW-Platteville is one of three teams in the nation with at least 9 wins without a loss on the season.

Next up, the Pioneers hit the road for Michigan next weekend with games at Olivet and Hope Colleges. UW-Platteville at Olivet will start at 6 p.m. CST on Friday, Dec. 10.