KENOSHA, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball team (6-2) survived a late comeback attempt in a 62-59 road win over Carthage (4-4) on Tuesday night inside Tarble Arena in Kenosha.

The Pioneers led by as many as 19 points in win, but the Firebirds stormed back in the closing minutes and made it a one-possession game with 10 seconds remaining. Carthage had an opportunity to tie the game as time ran out, but UW-Platteville hung on for a third consecutive victory.

Senior Max Love paced the Pioneers with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting while tying junior Bristol Lewis for the team lead in rebounds with seven. Lewis added 12 points of his own, and senior Miles Hettinger rounded out the players in double figures for UW-Platteville with 12 points and five rebounds off the bench.

Carthage held a slight edge in the early stages of the contest until a seven-point run featuring four points from Hettinger and a three-pointer by junior Lucas Ramker flipped the score in favor of the Pioneers. The game remained close as it neared halftime, but UW-Platteville scored the final eight points to take a 34-26 lead into the break.

Love extended the lead to double digits with a bucket out of halftime, and the Pioneers pushed the gap to 45-29 with 16:10 left. A six-point run that saw Hettinger and freshmen Kaden MacKenzie and Cooper Hoffman all score made it a 19-point advantage with just over 10 minutes remaining, but Carthage began to chip away at the deficit.

The Firebirds rattled off eight unanswered points to get back within seven, and the Pioneers managed to fend off the rally with a second-chance basket by Rameker and free throws by Lewis. But Carthage hit shots with 23 seconds and 10 seconds left to make it a three-point game. Despite missed free throws by UW-Platteville, the Firebirds were unable to find the equalizer as time ran out and the Pioneers hung on for the close win.

UW-Platteville shot 42.6 percent (26-of-61) from the floor compared to 33.3 percent (20-of-60) for Carthage. Scoring in the paint was a priority for the Pioneers, as they outscored the Firebirds 36-24 in that area while attempting a season-low 15 three-pointers. UW-Platteville still shot 33.3 percent (5-of-15) from deep while holding Carthage to 23.1 percent (6-of-26) from beyond the arc.

The Pioneers will travel to Holland, Michigan on Saturday afternoon for a 2 p.m. tip-off against Hope. The Flying Dutchmen have won three straight to sit at 4-2 on the year.

*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.