PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball team (11-2, 2-0 WIAC) won 73-56 in the team's home conference opener against UW-River Falls (7-6, 1-1 WIAC) on Saturday afternoon inside Williams Fieldhouse.

Sophomore Max Love and junior Brady Olson combined to score 25 of the 31 UW-Platteville points in the first half as the Pioneers held a six-point advantage at the break. UW-Platteville led by as many as 10 in the half after back-to-back threes by Olson, but the Falcons cut the deficit down with four made free throws in the final minute.

UW-River Falls got within four out of halftime, but seven straight points pushed the Pioneer lead up to 11. Love continued to knock down threes as UW-Platteville maintained a double-digit lead for much of the half. The lead reached a game-high 17 points on a second-chance bucket by sophomore Joey Fuhremann with 4:33 left, and the Pioneers won 73-56.

Love scored a career-high 27 points on 10-of-20 shooting, including 6-of-12 from beyond the arc. He added seven rebounds and blocked two shots on the defensive end.

Olson tallied 15 points with four made threes to finish as the second highest scorer for UW-Platteville. The junior dished out a team-high six assists and grabbed six boards. Senior Logan Pearson also reached double figures with 11 points.

The Pioneers shot 40.6 percent (26-of-64) in the game and went 13-of-35 (37.1 percent) from deep. Defensively, UW-Platteville held the Falcons to just 33.3 percent (18-of-54) from the floor, including 29.6 percent (8-of-27) in the second half.

UW-Platteville hits the road on Wednesday night to take on UW-Oshkosh at 7 p.m.