Pioneers rally over Eagles in Top-10 showdown

PLATTEVILLE, WIS. – In the second battle of Top-10 teams in a week's time on Bo Ryan Court, the No. 5 nationally ranked University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball team rallied in the second half to defeat No. 10 University of Wisconsin-La Crosse 76-72. The win in front of 1,185 fans in Williams Fieldhouse snaped the Eagles' eight-game winning streak and marked the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rival's first loss on the road this season.

The Pioneers improve to 18-1 overall and 7-1 in the league while UW-La Crosse falls to 15-3 and 6-3 in the WIAC. 

UW-La Crosse shot 45.5 percent (25-of-55) from the field compared to UW-Platteville's 37.9 percent (22-of-58), but in the end, the Pioneers went 8-of-27 (29.6 percent) from three-point territory which pushed them past the Eagles who finished 3-of-13 (23.1 percent) from behind the arc. 

A layup by Kyle Tuma (Sr./Valders, Wis.) four minutes into the game put the Pioneers on the board for the first time as the Eagles scored the first five points Wednesday night. Ben Probst (So./Madison, Wis.) nailed the first of four threes at 15:22 to narrow UW-La Crosse's lead to 7-5, but the Eagles went on an 11-0 run to pull ahead 18-5 with 11:37 left in the half. 

The visitors extended their lead to 25-12 over the next three minutes before Quentin Shields (Sr./Chicago, Ill.) hit for two followed by another three by Probst at the 7:42 mark. With Williams Fieldhouse on its feet and the Pioneers heating up, UW-La Crosse called timeout, but Shields hit back-to-back three pointers and the Pioneers cut the Eagles' lead to 32-28 with three minutes remaining in the half. 

UW-Platteville trailed 36-30 at halftime after shooting just 32.1 percent from the field to the Eagles' 56.5 percent. 

UW-La Crosse maintained its six-point lead until a momentum shifting foul followed by a technical foul by Sean Suchomel at 16:03 sent Shields to the line to shoot four. Shields made 3-of-4 and the Pioneers trailed 40-37. Probst's two made free throws at the 13:32 mark knotted the game 41-41. 

In double bonus by the 11:36 mark, the Pioneers took their first lead of the night 47-45 off two free throws by Shields. 

The Eagles reclaimed the lead 68-67 with two minutes to go, but a Probst layup and three-pointer gave the Pioneers a 72-68 lead with 0:54 on the clock. Suchomel narrowed the margin to 72-70 before Shields added two more from the foul line at 0:19 giving possession back to the visiting team. 

UW-La Crosse's leading scorer Seth Anderson scored off an own rebound to make it a 74-72 game with seconds on the board. The Eagles fouled Justin Stovall (Sr./Chicago, Ill.) with 0:01 on the clock and the two made free throws finalized the 76-72 victory and sweep of UW-La Crosse in the regular season.

For the second game in a row, Shields led the Pioneers with 32 points, tying a career-best. Probst had a career-high 20 while Tuma added 16 even while in foul trouble. Stovall pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds. 

Anderson led the Eagles with 19 points while Wyatt Cook added 16. 

The Pioneers finished 24-of-29 (82.8 percent) from the free throw line while UW-La Crosse was 19-of-23 (82.6 percent). 

"The resiliency of this group is outstanding," said head coach Jeff Gard. "When you have [Quentin Shields] as the general, you're going to be in everything. Guys stepped up and filled in roles as needed. We are finding the ability to play different spots and because of that we are playing more balanced."

Shields, the most recent Pioneer in program history to reach 1,500 career points, said "We have an opportunity right now to step up into roles," referring to being without two starters for the last week. "My job is to be a leader. Every time I step out here, that's what I think about. Do what needs to be done to win games. Regardless of what's happens on the stat sheet, I just want to win the game."

The Pioneers will take a much needed rest as the WIAC enters the first of two bye-weekends. UW-Platteville will return to action next Wednesday, Feb. 2 when they travel to No. 4 UW-Oshkosh with game time set for 7 p.m.