Balanced Attack Leads Pioneers To Sixth Straight Win

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – Five players reached double figures in scoring as the University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball team (7-1) improved its winning streak to six games with a 71-64 win over Hope (3-5) on Saturday evening inside Williams Fieldhouse.

The Flying Dutchmen held a nine-point lead early in the opening half, but an 11-point run by the Pioneers flipped the score in favor of the home team 17-15. UW-Platteville knocked down three triples on the run, with two coming from senior Ben Probst and the other from junior Max Love. The game remained tight for the next several minutes until a pair of threes by senior Brady Olson put the Pioneers up 30-24 with under five to play in the half. In the final minutes, Hope connected on a three to cut the deficit down to five, but sophomore Bristol Lewis buried a three of his own as the buzzer sounded to give UW-Platteville a 39-31 lead at the break.

The lead grew to a game-high 12 early in the second half on a made three by Olson and a layup by Probst. Hope would answer with a seven-point run to get back within two at 50-48 with 13:11 to play, but another triple by Olson ended the run and made it a two possession game again. The Flying Dutchmen made it a one point on multiple occasions in the next couple minutes, but a seven-point Pioneers run made it an eight-point game with under seven remaining. Hope would get as close as three in the closing minutes, but senior Logan Pearson made four free throws in the final 30 seconds and the Pioneers defense stood strong to win 71-64.

Olson scored a season-high 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting and four made threes to lead five players in double figures for the Pioneers. Pearson added 15 points with a team-high five assists, while Love (13) and Probst (10) also scored double digits among UW-Platteville starters. Off the bench, Lewis scored 12 points, a season high.

UW-Platteville shot 41.8 percent (23-of-55) from the floor in the win and 40.7 percent (11-of-27) from beyond the arc. The Pioneers were fantastic from the free throw line, shooting 87.5 percent (14-of-16).

Hope used a strong second half shooting to finish at 48.9 percent (23-of-47) from the field in the game. The Flying Dutchmen struggled from deep, finishing just 18.8 percent (3-of-16), but were solid at the stripe at 78.9 percent (15-of-19).

The Pioneers forced 16 turnovers and turned that into a 24-8 advantage in points off turnovers. Hope got most of its points inside the paint, outscoring UW-Platteville 34-20 in that category.

UW-Platteville returns to the court next Saturday, December 14 at Central (Iowa). Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.