Pioneers Take Down Titans In Road Win

Photo by: Steve Frommell, Photographer, UW-Oshkosh Athletics

OSHKOSH, Wis. – A three-point barrage in the opening half fueled the fourth-ranked University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball (17-2, 7-1 WIAC) to an 86-73 road win over UW-Oshkosh (11-8, 2-6 WIAC) on Wednesday night inside the Kolf Sports Center.

Senior Brady Olson led the attack with a team-high 21 points while going 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. Senior Logan Pearson added 17 points on 7-of-11 from the floor and 3-of-4 from deep, while sophomore Bristol Lewis pitched in with 11 points off the bench to round out the Pioneers in double figures.

Olson scored 14 of UW-Platteville's first 23 points as the visiting team raced out to a 23-6 advantage eight minutes into the first half. The Titans answered with an eight-point run to get back within single digits, and later cut the deficit down to six at 30-24 with 5:45 left until halftime. Three-point makes by Olson, Pearson, and junior Aiden Wieczorek quickly made it a 15-point game, and the Pioneers maintained the double digit lead behind another three by Pearson to take a 46-31 lead at the break.

Pearson scored the Pioneers first seven points of the second half, and the lead grew to a game-high 24 points on a three-point play by junior Joey Fuhremann. UW-Oshkosh chipped away at the UW-Platteville and made it an eight-point game at 77-69 with three minutes to play. The Pioneers held strong, with Ben Probst scoring five points down the stretch and Lewis converting a pair of free throws for the 86-73 win.

The Pioneers shot 53.3 percent (32-of-60) for the game and went 14-of-26 (53.8 percent) from beyond the arc, the team's best three-point shooting percentage in a game this season. Ten of those 14 threes came in the opening half, with UW-Platteville shooting 66.7 percent (10-of-15) across the first 20 minutes.

Fuhremann grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, while Pearson finished second on the team with six. Junior Max Love dished out a team-leading five assists.

UW-Oshkosh shot 45.1 percent (23-of-51) from the floor and 50.0 percent (9-of-18) from three-point range. The Titans got the line at a high clip and went 18-of-21 (85.7 percent) from the charity stripe. Carter Thomas paced the team with 27 points, while Brandon Beck scored 15 off the bench.

UW-Platteville will have the weekend off before returning to action on Wednesday, February 5 at home against UW-La Crosse. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.