PELLA, Iowa – Five players reached double figures as the University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball (8-1) put together an efficient showing in an 87-64 road win over Central (Iowa) (6-4) on Saturday evening inside the P.H. Kuyper Gymnasium in Pella, Iowa.

The Pioneers shot 54.0 percent (34-of-63) from the floor in the win and 42.9 percent (12-of-28) from beyond the arc, the fourth time in the past five games the team has been over at least 40 percent from deep. Those marks offset the performance from the free throw line, where UW-Platteville finished at 53.8 percent (7-of-13).

Senior Logan Pearson led all scorers with 21 points on 10-of-16 shooting, while adding a team-high five assists. Junior Max Love pitched in with 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting with a team leading eight rebounds, and senior Ben Probst also reached double figures among starters with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Off the bench, sophomore Bristol Lewis recorded 12 points on 4-of-4 from three-point range, while junior Miles Hettinger scored 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting.

UW-Platteville shot 61.8 percent (21-of-34) from the field in the opening half to take a 48-31 advantage into the break. Central battled back from a 12-point deficit midway through the half to trail 24-21 with just under six to play, but the Pioneers responded with 13 straight points to extend the lead back to 16. Lewis knocked down a pair of triples to cap the run, and just a couple minutes later, Pearson made a turnaround jumper to make it an 18-point game.

The scoring slowed down slightly in the second half, and the Dutch were able to narrow the gap down to six at 62-56 with 7:27 remaining. A layup by Pearson and a three-point make by Probst following a turnover increased the Pioneers back to double digits just 17 seconds later, and the lead remained double figures for the rest of the game as the Pioneers built up a 23-point cushion in the closing minutes.

Central finished at 45.5 percent (25-of-55) for the game and 31.3 percent (5-of-16) from three-point range. The Dutch made just half of their free throw attempts, going 9-of-18.

Joshua Van Gorp paced the Dutch with a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double. Karson Wehde joined him in double figures with 12 points, and also recorded the double-double with 10 rebounds.

The Pioneers defense forced 21 Central turnovers to hold a 23-11 advantage in points off turnovers. 16 of those turnovers were steals for UW-Platteville, with senior Brady Olson pacing the team with five. Pearson and junior Joey Fuhremann each had three steals.

UW-Platteville will have a couple week off before taking on Bethany Lutheran on Sunday, December 29 at the St. Norbert Holiday Tournament in De Pere, Wisconsin. The game is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.