Pioneers Drop Contest To Diplomats

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball team (7-6) dropped its second game at the D3hoops Classic in Las Vegas to the Franklin & Marshall Diplomats (7-3) by a score of 81-65 inside South Point Arena on Friday evening.

The two teams traded points in the early portion of the first half until Franklin & Marshall put together a nine-point run to lead 21-11. Junior Logan Pearson scored five straight to cut the deficit down to five, but the Diplomats continued to answer each Pioneer bucket with one of their own to maintain the lead. UW-Platteville got as close as three in final minutes of the first half on a three by freshman Max Love and a jumper by sophomore Brady Olson, but Franklin & Marshall held a 37-31 advantage at the break.

The Diplomats pushed the lead up to 10 in the first four minutes of the second half and maintained the double-digit margin until a five-point Pioneers run made the score 50-43 with 11:45 left to play. Franklin & Marshall outscored UW-Platteville 15-6 in the next five minutes to extend the gap to a game-high 16 at 67-51. The Pioneers were unable to get back within single digits in the final six minutes of action as the Diplomats won 81-65.

Pearson and junior Ben Probst each scored 14 to lead the Pioneers in scoring, while Olson added 12 to round out the scorers in double figures. Senior Brad Nies, Pearson, and Love tied for the team lead with five rebounds, while sophomore Carter Lancaster dished out a team-high five assists. UW-Platteville finished shooting 41.5 percent (22-of-53) for the game and 35.3 percent (6-of-17) from deep.

Four Diplomats recorded double-digit points, with John Seidman scoring a game-high 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting. Omar Nichols (17 points), Josh Parra (15), and Jaylen Green (14) also reached double figures. Franklin & Marshall shot 49.1 percent (27-of-55) in the game, including 46.7 percent (7-of-15) from beyond the arc.

The Pioneers resume WIAC play on Wednesday, January 4 when they travel to UW-La Crosse for a 7 p.m. tip-off.