Second Half Rally Comes Up Short Against Eagles

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – A second half rally fell short as the University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball team (12-9, 5-5 WIAC) dropped a 82-67 contest to UW-La Crosse (16-5, 7-3 WIAC) at home on Wednesday Night.

The Pioneers raised money in support of Garding Against Cancer during the game, with donations reaching $3,741.

Sophomore Brady Olson was the source for much of the Pioneers early offense as he connected on three early triples to put the hosts ahead 15-9 with 12:35 left in the first half. UW-La Crosse scored the next seven points to take a one-point lead, but Olson put UW-Platteville back in front with his fourth three. The Eagles offense answered with runs of 11 and 10 points over the next five minutes to hold a 37-21 advantage with 2:20 on the clock. The Pioneers cut the deficit down to 11 by halftime and trailed 39-28 at the break.

UW-Platteville broke out of the offensive slump early in the second half as three-point makes by junior Logan Pearson and layups by sophomore Carter Lancaster kept the Pioneers within 14. The Eagles answered each basket with one of their own until an eight-point Pioneers run, capped by a three by freshman Max Love, made it 57-48 with 12:46 to play. Pearson continued his second half barrage as he scored eight straight UW-Platteville points to cut the deficit down to 63-56 with just under 10 minutes left. The Eagles kept the Pioneers from getting any closer for the remainder of the game to hang on for an 82-67 win.

Pearson scored a game-high 27 points, including 18 on 6-of-7 shooting in the second half. Olson added 18 points on six made threes, while freshman Aiden Wieczorek scored eight points off the bench. Lancaster grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the team and tied Pearson for the team lead in assists with four. The Pioneers shot 41.0 percent (25-of-61) in the game and 32.4 percent (11-of-34) from beyond the arc.

Will Fuhrmann scored 20 points and Austin Westra tallied 19 points to pace the Eagles in scoring. UW-La Crosse outrebounded the Pioneers 40-27, with Westra and Dustin Derousseau each totaling six. The Eagles shot the ball well in both halves to finish at 53.7 percent (29-of-54) for the game and 45.0 percent (9-of-20) from deep.

The Pioneers travel to UW-Stout on Saturday afternoon for a 3 p.m. tip-off.