MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (Jan. 1–8)
MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL: #5 UW–Platteville 79, #11 UW–Stevens Point64
By Letsgopioneers.com
Pioneers open WIAC play with win over #11 Pointers
STEVENS POINT — The fifth-ranked UW–Platteville men’s basketball team never trailed in a 79–64 road win over 11th-ranked UW–Stevens Point Saturday evening in the WIAC opener inside Quandt Fieldhouse.
The Pioneers (11–1, 1–0 WIAC) put together a strong first half, shooting 58.6 percent (17-of-29) from the floor while holding the Pointers (10–2, 0–1) to under 30 percent to take a 39-25 lead at the break.
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.
Stevens Point chipped away at the deficit down the stretch, even getting back within eight at 67–59 behind a nine-point run, but 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, Platteville made 17-of-18 tries in the second half, including all 10 in the final two minutes.
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.
The Pioneers remain on the road to begin conference play and will face UW–La Crosse (10–2, 1–0) Wednesday at 7 p.m.
#5 UW–Platteville 79, #11 UW–Stevens Point 64
(from Saturday, Jan. 4 @ Stevesn Point
Platteville.........39 40 — 79
Stevens Point..25 39 — 64
UW–Platteville (11–1, 1–0) — Max Love 14, Joey Fuhremann 16, Ben Probst 8, Logan Pearson 23, Brady Olson 4, Bristol Lewis 8, Aiden Wieczorek 4, Miles Hettinger 2. Totals — 28-54 19-21 79.
UW–Stevens Point (10–2, 0–1) — Malik Abdul-Wahid 6, Cal Krohn 2, Seth Miron 11, Josiah Butler 8, Darrius Bolden 15, Ty Teague-Johnson 4, Carter Combs 1, Logan Baumgartner 14, Grant Manz 3. Totals — 21-54 17-27 64.
3-pointers — P: 4-22 (Love 2-3, Probst 1-9, Pearson 1-3); SP: 5-17 (Abdul_Wahid 1-1, Butler 1-3, Baumgartner 3-7). Team fouls — P: 21; SP: 19. Foul out — none.
