Pioneers Pick Up Road Win Over Pointers

STEVENS POINT, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basektabll team (12-7, 5-3 WIAC) held off a late rally to win 66-63 over UW-Stevens Point (9-10, 2-6 WIAC) on Saturday night inside Quandt Fieldhouse.

The Pioneers pulled ahead by eight early in the first half and led 11-3 with 15:41 on the clock. An eight-point run extended the lead to 13 with less than ten minutes until halftime, with junior Logan Pearson scoring five points on the run. UW-Stevens Point went on an 8-0 run of its own to cut the deficit down to five at 27-22 and another four straight got the Pointers within one possession with 2:52 remaining I the half. Freshman Aidan Wieczorek knocked down a three to end the UW-Stevens Point run and buckets by sophomore Julian Samuels and Pearson in the final minute gave the Pioneers a 36-30 lead at halftime.

The Pointers hung close in the first five minutes of the second half until a four-point play by junior Ben Probst extended the Pioneers lead up to nine at 44-35. Probst connected on another three and a layup by senior Brad Nies increased the gap to 14 at 51-37 with 8:59 left to play. With UW-Platteville leading by 10 with 3:31 left, the Pointers went on a 9-3 run to trail 62-58 with just over a minute left. Pearson made a layup to increase the lead back to six, but UW-Stevens Point made a layup to get back within four. Pearson put the Pioneers up six again with a pair of free throw makes with 19 seconds remaining and while the Pointers made a late three, UW-Platteville was able to secure a 66-63 victory.

Pearson tallied 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting to lead the Pioneers in scoring while Prosbt added 20 points and four made threes. Pearson led the team with eight rebounds and tied sophomore Brady Olson for the team lead with three assists. UW-Platteville shot 43.6 percent (24-of-55) in the game and 36.4 percent (8-of-22) from beyond the arc.

Zach Mootz led the Pointers with 22 points while shooting 8-of-15 including 4-of-8 from three. Ryan Genrich paced the team with seven rebounds and Jake Buchanan dished out five assists. UW-Stevens Point shot 48.1 percent (26-of-54) from the field and 30.0 percent (6-of-20) from three.

The Pioneers remain on the road and will face UW-Oshkosh on Wednesday night at 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 offering 10 tacos for $10 the day after each Pioneer win.