Pioneers Celebrate Senior Day With Commanding Win
PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The third-ranked University of Wisconsin-Platteville men’s basketball team (23-2, 13-1 WIAC) celebrated Senior Day with an 85-44 home win over UW-River Falls (9-16, 3-11 WIAC) on Saturday evening inside Williams Fieldhouse.
PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The third-ranked University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball team (23-2, 13-1 WIAC) celebrated Senior Day with an 85-44 home win over UW-River Falls (9-16, 3-11 WIAC) on Saturday evening inside Williams Fieldhouse.
Prior to the contest, the Pioneers recognized the contributions of four seniors: Logan Pearson, Ben Probst, Brady Olson, and Kobe Smit. The quartet was a part of the UW-Platteville starting lineup, and Probst would finish with a team-high 13 points in the win. Pearson added 11, Olson finished with seven, and Smith knocked down a first-half three for his first career points.
The win also ensured the Pioneers will hold sole possession of the 2024-25 WIAC regular season title. UW-Platteville will enter the upcoming WIAC Tournament as the top seed, with Williams Fieldhouse playing host to the semifinal matchup on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
A 19-point UW-Platteville run in the first half allowed the home team to open a 36-12 lead with 6:26 remaining until the break. The gap grew a little more in the closing minutes of the half, and the Pioneers took a commanding 49-19 lead into the second half.
The Pioneers outscored the Falcons 36-25 in the second half, with 11 different players scoring. Junior Max Love scored a team-high seven points in the final 20 minutes, while freshman Joah Bodden added four. The duo was the only two players to record multiple made field goals in the half for UW-Platteville, with the variety of scorers helping the Pioneers win by 41.
UW-Platteville shot 51.6 percent (32-of-62) from the floor in the game, including 56.3 percent (18-of-32) in the first half. The Pioneers knocked down 11 of their 28 three-point attempts (39.3 percent) and converted 83.3 percent (10-of-12) from the line.
Junior Miles Hettinger grabbed a team-high seven rebounds while adding nine points off the bench. Junior Joey Fuhremann joined Probst and Pearson in double figures with 11 points, while Love also reached double digits with 10 points.
UW-River Falls shot just 31.5 percent (17-of-54) as they struggled to find consistent offense outside of Zac Johnson's 18 points. The Falcons turned the ball over 15 times, leading to a wide gap in points off turnovers, as the Pioneers held a 24-6 lead in that category. This allowed UW-Platteville to find success in transition with 16 fast break points compared to seven for the Falcons.
*As with every UW-Platteville win this year, the Platteville A&W will be offering a $3 Pioneer burger the day after the win and the Platteville Taco John's will be offering 10 tacos for $10 the day after each Pioneer win.