Pioneers Fall To Hope Saturday

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball team (5-5) fell to Hope (5-2) by score of 69-64 on Saturday afternoon on Bo Ryan Court.

The two teams traded buckets early, and the score sat even at 13 seven minutes into the first half. Junior Logan Pearson and sophomore Gavin Ralph carried the scoring early for the Pioneers, with both tallying five points in the early going. The Pioneers scored seven straight points to take a lead with ten minutes left in the half, with a jumper by Pearson giving the hosts a 20-13 advantage. Late in the half, Hope took a one-point lead on an 8-1 run, but back-to-back threes from Pearson and junior Ben Probst put the Pioneers back ahead. Probst scored the final two points of the first half and UW-Platteville entered the break with a 36-34 lead.

The teams remained separated by one possession for the first seven minutes of the second half until freshman Miles Hettinger made a layup to put the Pioneers up four. UW-Platteville's lead reached five on a pair of free throws from Hettinger, but the Flying Dutchmen scored the next seven to take a two-points lead at 51-49 with eight minutes on the clock. Hope never trailed for the remainder of the game, but the Pioneers were able to tie the game five different times. The visitors scored on a jump shot with 0:23 left to break a 63-63 tie, and the Flying Dutchmen converted from the free throw line to win 69-64.

Pearson totaled 22 points on 8-of-17 shooting, the fifth time this season he has scored at least 20. Freshman Max Love was the only other Pioneer to reach double figures, scoring 10 points off the bench. Freshman Gavin Ralph and Probst pitched in with nine and eight points, respectively. Sophomore Brady Olson led the team with seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals. UW-Platteville shot 36.1 percent (22-of-61) in the game including 28.6 percent (8-of-28) from three.

TJ McKenzie scored a game-high 23 points of 9-of-21 shooting while Gabe Quillan added 14 points. Hope shot 44.2 percent (23-of-52) from the field and 34.6 percent (9-of-26) from three-point range.

The Pioneers remain at home when they host Concordia Wisconsin on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.