Strong Second Half Sends Pioneers Past Cardinals

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball team (5-4) outscored the North Central Cardinals (4-4) by 15 in the second half to win 65-55 inside Williams Fieldhouse on Tuesday night.

Junior Logan Pearson knocked down a pair of threes as the Pioneers claimed a 11-5 lead in the first five minutes of the opening half. North Central responded with an 8-0 run before Pearson connected on his third three of the game to give UW-Platteville the lead back. The Cardinals maintained a slim advantage for the final ten minutes of the first half and took a 34-29 lead into the break.

Both teams traded buckets for much of the early stages of the second half but a layup by junior Ben Probst and a triple by sophomore Gavin Ralph pushed the Pioneers in front 49-46 with under ten minutes to play. Probst fueled a 9-3 run by scoring seven points to extend the UW-Platteville to nine at 60-51. The Pioneers defense held the Cardinals to just one made basket in the final five minutes to win 65-55.

Probst led all scorers with 23 points on 7-of-16 shooting. The junior also tied sophomore Brady Olson for the team lead in assists with five. Pearson added 13 points while senior Brad Nies totaled 10 points on 5-of-8 from the floor. Olson grabbed seven rebounds to pace the team. The Pioneers shot 46.2 percent (24-of-52) from the floor and 34.6 percent (9-of-26) from beyond the arc. UW-Platteville was strong offensively in the second half, connecting on 54.2 percent (13-of-24) attempts.

Matt Helwig tallied 18 points to lead North Central, while Mitch Lewis added 10 points off the bench. The Cardinals shot 36.7 percent (18-of-49) from the field and 27.3 percent (6-of-22) from deep. After a solid first half shooting the ball, the Pioneers defense held the Cardinals to just 29.6 percent (8-of-27) from the floor in the second half.

The Pioneers remain at home when they host Hope in a non-conference game on Saturday, December 10. Tip-off is set for 3 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.