Pioneers Secure WIAC Regular Season Title, Set Several Milestones In Win

WHITEWATER, Wis. – With a 78-62 road win over UW-Whitewater (10-14, 4-9 WIAC) on Wednesday night, the third-ranked University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball team (22-2, 12-1 WIAC) secured at least a share of their 24th WIAC regular season title. The Pioneers also reached a pair of other milestones in the contest, as senior Logan Pearson reached 2,000 career points and senior Ben Probst became the program's all-time three-point leader.

Pearson scored 15 points in the win, putting him at 2,009 for his career. The Kimberly native became one of just eight players in WIAC history to reach the 2,000 points plateau and is the first since 2011 to be added to the list.

Probst knocked down a trio of three-pointers, the second of which at the 9:01 mark in the first half broke the Pioneers record. Probst is up to 247 career three-point makes, surpassing the previous mark of 245 held by Curt Hanson.

UW-Platteville led by as many as 13 in the opening half, but UW-Whitewater held the Pioneers scoreless across the final five minutes to trail by just two at 35-33 at the break. Junior Miles Hettinger paced the team in scoring with 10 points in the half.

The Warhawks erased the deficit and took a four-point lead at 48-44 with 11:49 remaining in the game. The game was knotted at 53 a couple minutes later, and Probst converted a four-point play to flip the score back in favor of UW-Platteville. The Pioneers lead continued to grow, highlighted by a three-point play by Hettinger and a bucket following a turnover by sophomore Bristol Lewis. UW-Platteville wrapped up the game with some solid free throw shooting to win 78-62.

The Pioneers shot 45.3 percent (29-of-64) from the field in the game and 32.0 percent (8-of-25) from beyond the arc. From the line, UW-Platteville shot 70.6 percent (12-of-17).

Hettinger scored a team-high 17 points off the bench, joining Pearson and Probst in double figures. Junior Aiden Wieczorek also reached double digits with 10 points off the bench on 4-of-6 shooting. On the boards, junior Joey Fuhremann grabbed 14 rebounds, including six on the offensive glass, while senior Brady Olson dished out a team-high four assists.

UW-Whitewater shot 38.2 percent (21-of-55) from the floor and 33.3 percent (9-of-27) from three-point range. Carter Capstran led the team with 18 points and seven rebounds, while Luke Bara added 10 points.

The Pioneers will have an opportunity to claim sole possession of the WIAC regular season title on Saturday at 5 p.m. against UW-River Falls. A win over the Falcons or a loss by UW-La Crosse against UW-Stevens Point would ensure UW-Platteville stands alone atop the conference.