PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team (3-8, 0-4) held a lead with 8:18 left in regulation, but No. 2 UW-Platteville (16-0, 5-0) pulled away late in an 89-78 final.
 
Garrett Nelson (Beaver Dam, Wis./Beaver Dam) led a quartet of double-figure scorers with 19 points.  He also had a game-high seven assists.  Zach Mootz (Merrill, Wis./Merrill) added 15 with Peter Timmerman (Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert Catholic) and Jake Buchanan (Kimberly, Wis./Kimberly) posting 14 and 10, respectively.
 
Brady Wagner (Lake Mills, Wis./Lake Mills) nailed a three in the opening minute.  Mootz completed an and-one and Timmerman drilled the first of his four triples before an 11-2 run gave the Pioneers a 17-11 lead.
 
Timmerman hit again from behind the arc to tie the game at 22-22.  The Pioneers answered again with a 9-0 run.  Buchanan hit a three late and UWSP trailed 37-29 at the break.
 
Timmerman and Mootz combined for three threes to open the second half as UWSP leveraged an 11-2 run into a 40-39 lead.  The team passed single possession leads back-and-forth until an Elijah Vander Velden (Huntington, Ind./Wabash) layup put UWSP in front by four with 12:06 to go.
 
Mootz sank another three with 8:18 left to give UWSP its final lead at 63-62.  The Pioneers reeled off a 15-3 run over the next three-plus minutes and the Pointers couldn't muster another comeback.
 
The Pointers return home to face UW-Stout on Wednesday (Jan. 19) with a 7:00 p.m. tip-off at Quandt Fieldhouse.