Second Half Rally Pushes Pioneers Past Yellowjackets

SUPERIOR, Wis. – For the second straight game at the Merrill Thompson Classic, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball team (2-0) used a strong second half to win 77-68 over the UW-Superior Yellowjackets (1-1) on Saturday evening inside Mertz Gymnasium.

The Pioneers scored the first five points of the first half, as junior Ben Probst knocked down a three and junior Logan Pearson followed with a jump shot. UW-Superior responded with a 13-point run and held a 24-13 lead at the midway point of the opening half. Probst ended the run with another triple and added a jumper to cut the deficit down to six. The Yellowjackets led by as many as 15 in the closing minutes of the half, but the Pioneers scored the final six points to trail 43-33 at the break.

UW-Platteville opened the second half by scoring the first nine points to cut the deficit to one. UW-Superior was able to push the advantage back to 11, but junior Jack Huml was able to keep the Pioneers close, scoring five points in a seven-point run to cut the Yellowjackets lead down to four. Pearson took over for the Pioneers with seven minutes to play, scoring six straight points to tie the game at 60. A three by Probst put UW-Platteville ahead with two and a half to play, and after a three by Huml, Probst scored the final five points to send the Pioneers to a 77-68 win.

The Pioneers shot 44.4 percent (28-of-63) from the field and 31.6 percent (6-of-19) from deep and added 15 made free throw attempts. Pearson led the way for the offense, scoring a team-high 20 points while Probst added 17 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore Carter Lancaster finished just shy of a double-double with nine points and nine boards. UW-Platteville totaled 14 steals with Huml and sophomore Brady Olson each tallying four.

Josef Fahrenholtz posted a game-high 27 points for UW-Superior while grabbing a team-best seven rebounds. The Yellowjackets shot 53.1 percent (26-of-49) from the floor and 57.1 percent (8-of-14) from three.

The Pioneers continue the early stretch of road contests when they travel to Ripon on Tuesday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

*As with every UW-Platteville win this year, the Platteville A&W will be offering a $3 Pioneer burger the day after the win and the Platteville Taco John's will be offing 10 tacos for $10 the day after each Pioneer win.