PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball team (5-2) overcome a slow offensive first half to win 81-73 over Dubuque (5-2) on Saturday evening from Bo Ryan Court.

The Pioneers struggled to find their shooting stroke in the first half, going just 12-of-34 (35.3 percent) from the floor and 2-of-13 (15.4 percent) from deep. The offense got it going in the second half, scoring 52 points and shooting 16-of-31 (51.6 percent), and making 4-of-10 tries from three-point range.

The scoring came from a variety of players, as five finished in double figures. Junior Bristol Lewis tallied 16 to lead the way while adding eight rebounds, while seniors Max Love and Joey Fuhremann each added 14 points. Senior Miles Hettinger posted a double-double off the bench with 13 points and 10 rebounds and junior Lucas Ramker rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.

The Spartans led for much of the first half, but the Pioneers were able to remain in striking distance behind a strong defensive effort. Dubuque's largest lead was seven at 19-12 with eight minutes remaining, but layups by Fuhremann and Rameker got UW-Platteville back within three. The Pioneers took their first lead of the game with 2:57 left in the half on a three-pointer by Rameker, and Lewis scored a floater in the paint to increase the lead to three. Dubuque answered by scoring the final six points of the half to take a 32-29 lead into the break.

Fuhremann scored the first four points of the second half to flip the lead back to UW-Platteville, but the lead was short lived as Dubuque scored six unanswered to regain the lead. The Pioneers responded with nine straight points, and a triple by Love and a layup by senior Aiden Wieczorek pushed the home team lead to 47-40 with 12:40 remaining. UW-Platteville turned a steal by freshman Kaden MacKenzie and a bucket by Hettinger into a 10-point lead, and the advantage hovered around double digits for the next couple minutes. The Spartans were able to get as close as seven down the stretch, but the Pioneers sealed the victory with solid free throw shooting.

UW-Platteville finished with a 16-6 advantage in assists, led by four from MacKenzie. The Pioneers also led in points off turnovers (15-9) and points in the paint (42-34).

The Spartans shot 39.7 percent (25-of-63) from the floor and just 28.6 percent (8-of-28) from deep. Jacob Williams led the way with 22 points, while Joey Coppola IV added 17 points with four made threes.

The Pioneers will travel to face Carthage on Tuesday, beginning a stretch of five straight games away from home. Tip-off in Kenosha is slated for 7 p.m.

*As with every UW-Platteville win this year, the Platteville A&W will be offering a free ice cream cone (with purchase) the day after the win and the Platteville Taco John's will be offering a free churro (with purchase) the day after each Pioneer win.