Pearson Leads Pioneers To Win Over Gusties

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – Senior Logan Pearson poured on a game-high 31 points as the sixth-ranked University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball team (6-1) beat Gustavus Adolphus (3-2) 65-52 on Sunday evening in the second game of the Gabe Miller Classic presented by the DRA.

With his performance, Pearson moved into second all-time on the Pioneers all-time scoring list with 1700 career points, surpassing Quentin Shields' mark of 1671. The Kimberly, Wisconsin native is now 163 points away from matching UW-Platteville all-time scoring leader in Mike Ehler (1863 career points).

Pearson was the lone Pioneers to reach double figures in the contest, scoring his 31 points on 10-of-15 shooting and a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line. He added a team-high six rebounds and tied for the team lead in assists with three.

In the first half, UW-Platteville raced out to an early 12-2 advantage behind an eight-point run that was highlighted by three-point makes by senior Brady Olson and Pearson. The scoring slowed down after that, with the Gusties outscoring the Pioneers 21-14 across the final 15 minutes of the half. UW-Platteville still took a three-point lead into the break at 26-23.

A 14-3 run to open the second half put the Pioneers in control at 40-26 with 14:50 remaining. Pearson scored eight of those 14 points, while junior Aiden Wieczorek and senior Ben Probst each knocked down triples to cap the run. UW-Platteville maintained the double-digit lead for the remainder of the game, and the gap reached a game-high 18 at 63-45 in the final minute on a pair of free throw makes by Pearson.

After struggling with just a 36.0 shooting percentage (9-of-25) in the opening the half, the Pioneers rebounded with a mark of 53.8 percent (14-of-26) in the final 20 minutes to finish at 45.1 percent (23-of-51) for the game. UW-Platteville finished at 23.1 percent (6-of-26) from beyond the arc but were perfect from the free throw line at 13-of-13.

Gustavus Adolphus shot 39.1 percent (18-of-46) from the field in the loss and 30.4 percent (7-of-23) from deep. The Gusties took two more free throw attempts than the Pioneers but made just 9 for a 60 percent mark.

The Pioneers will wrap up a six game homestand next Saturday against Hope. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. inside Williams Fieldhouse.