The UWRF men's basketball team fell to the University of Wisconsin-Platteville Pioneers, 66-48, in a home WIAC matchup, despite 18 points from senior forward Ollie White.

The Falcons only trailed by four at half, 29-25, but the Pioneers widened their lead thanks to a 28-9 run in the middle of the second half. Every Falcons basket was highly contested in this defensive battle with a very good Platteville squad.

White's 18 points led both teams; he added three rebounds and one assist.

UWRF held a momentary 25-22 lead at the 3:35 mark of the first half before the Pioneers scored seven consecutive points to end the half. In fact, the Falcons trailed by three with 14:49 left in the second half, but only managed to score 13 points in the final 14 minutes.

Freshman guard Grant Erickson contributed eight points, and a team-leading seven rebounds for UWRF. Freshman guard Devin Buckley scored seven points, all coming in the first half. Junior guard Jay Sewer scored four points, had two assists, and rebounded five basketballs. Sophomore center Connor Goodwin led the Falcons with three assists.

UWRF shot 40 percent from the field in the first half but finished at 37.5 percent, as they missed all seven 3-point opportunities in the second half. The Falcons won the turnover battle, 14-13.

Early 3-point success kept the Falcons in the contest, going 3-7 beyond the arc in the first, but UWRF finished 3-14 overall.

White led UWRF with nine first half points, as the Falcons went on a 16-7 run in the middle of the half.

Platteville out-rebounded UWRF 18-14 in the first, and 37-25 for the game.

The Pioneers only shot 42.9 percent from the field in the first, but finished the game at 52.8 percent. Four Pioneers finished in double figures, including sophomore guard Boston Johnson, who led Platteville with 16 points; 14 of which came in the second half.

The Falcons held Platteville off the scoreboard for four minutes and four seconds late in the first half thanks to tenacious defense from all five positions.

UWRF last held the lead at 3:28 of the first half, before Platteville went on a 7-0 run to end the half.

UWRF outscored Plateville 10-9 in the first five minutes of the second half, closing the gap to three, but quick, empty posessions hurt UWRF in the second half, making defensive stops seemingly mandatory.

UWRF fell to 3-5 overall, 0-2 at home and 0-2 in WIAC play. Platteville is now 6-2 on the season.

The Falcons next matchup is at home against the University of Wisconsin-Stout Blue Devils on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m.

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