Pioneers Open WIAC Play With Win Over No. 11 Pointers

STEVENS POINT, Wis. – The fifth-ranked University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball team (11-1, 1-0 WIAC) never trailed in a 79-64 road win over 11th-ranked UW-Stevens Point (10-2, 0-1 WIAC) on Saturday evening in the WIAC opener inside Quandt Fieldhouse.

The Pioneers put together a strong first half, shooting 58.6 percent (17-of-29) from the floor while holding the Pointers to under 30 percent to take a 39-25 lead at the break. UW-Platteville found success attacking the basket, outscoring UW-Stevens Point 28-10 in points in the paint, with 10 of those points coming from junior big man Joey Fuhremann, who was a perfect 5-of-5 in the half.

The lead grew to a game-high 22 points at 57-35 seven minutes into the third quarter as the Pioneers scored 12 unanswered points following a Pointers run that saw the lead cut down to 10. UW-Stevens Point chipped away at the deficit down the stretch, even getting back within eight at 67-59 behind a nine-point run, but UW-Platteville held off the comeback attempt with good free throw shooting to win 79-64.

Free throw shooting proved to be a key difference in the outcome of the contest, as the Pioneers finished at 90.5 percent (19-of-21) from the line compared to 63.0 percent (17-of-27) for the Pointers. After attempting just three free throw attempts in the first half, UW-Platteville made 17-of-18 tries in the second half, including all 10 in the final two minutes.

The Pioneers finished at 51.9 percent (28-of-54) from the floor in the win, but struggled from beyond the arc, going just 4-of-22 (18.2 percent). Senior Logan Pearson led the way with 23 points, while Fuhremann finished with 16 points on 7-of-7 shooting and a team-high nine rebounds. Junior Max Love joined them in double figures with 14 points with a pair of three-point makes.

For the Pointers, Darrius Bolden scored a team-high 15 points, while Logan Baumgartner added 14 points off the bench. After shooting the ball much better in the second half, UW-Stevens Point finished at 38.9 percent (21-of-54) for the game.

The Pioneers remain on the road to begin conference play and will face UW-La Crosse on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.