Pioneers Shut Down Blugolds In 72-50 Win

Photo by: Chico La Barbera, Photographer

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – Four players finished in double figures as the third-ranked University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball team (20-2, 10-1 WIAC) cruised to a 72-50 road win over UW-Eau Claire (14-8, 6-5 WIAC) on Wednesday night inside the Sonnentag Event Center in Eau Claire.

With the win, the Pioneers clinched a top two spot in the upcoming WIAC Tournament, thanks to the four-game lead over UW-Eau Claire with just three games remaining. UW-Platteville will receive a first-round bye in the tournament, which begins on Monday, February 24.

The Pioneers got offense from a variety of sources in the 22-point win, with senior Logan Pearson and sophomore Bristol Lewis sharing the team high of 13. Senior Ben Probst knocked down four threes to finish with 12 points, while senior Brady Olson scored 10 points while grabbing six rebounds. Junior Joey Fuhremann secured a team-high eight boards and pitched in on the offensive end with eight points.

In the first half, UW-Platteville took an early 10-point lead, but eight consecutive Blugolds points made it 14-12 with under 12 to play until halftime. UW-Eau Claire kept the game close for the next several minutes until the Pioneers went on a 10-2 run in the closing minutes of the half to take a 36-26 lead into halftime. Probst and Lewis each made threes on the run, with the latter making his attempt with just four seconds left until halftime.

An eight-point Pioneers run out of the break increased the lead to 16 at 44-28, and UW-Platteville would lead by double digits for the rest of the game. Three-point makes by Pearson and Probst pushed the gap to 22 for the first time, and the Pioneers would lead by as many as 24 in the win. The Blugolds struggled to find much offensive success in the half, shooting 38.5 percent (10-of-26), while the Pioneers finished at 45.2 percent (14-of-31) with six made threes.

For the game, UW-Platteville shot 45.2 percent (28-of-62), going exactly 14-of-31 from the floor in each half. The Pioneers went 12-of-27 (44.4 percent) from deep and 4-of-5 (80 percent) from the free throw line.

UW-Eau Claire posted a shooting percentage of 37.7 percent (20-of-53) in the loss while finishing at 24.0 percent (6-of-25) from three-point range. The Blugolds were also kept off the charity stripe, finishing with just eight attempts and making half.

The Pioneers return home on Saturday for a 5 p.m. tip-off against UW-Stout.