PLATTEVILLE, Wis. — The Gustavus men's basketball team dropped the second and final game of its Wisconsin road trip to UW-Platteville, falling 79-67 to the Pioneers. The Gusties were within two points of the Pioneers at halftime, 32-30, but once again struggled to keep pace in the second half.
Evan Wieker opened the game's scoring with a layup, but Platteville responded, jumping out to an 11 point lead to start the game, 13-2. The Gusties slowly clawed their way back, evening the score for the first time at 28-28, before ending the half down two.
After the break, the duo of
Evan Wieker and
Spencer Swanson helped Gustavus take its first lead of the game, posting back-to-back-to-back layups for a 37-35 Gustie advantage. The two teams battled closely for the next 12 minutes, with five lead changes and neither taking more than a five point lead. The last six minutes of the game belonged to the home team, though, as Platteville took advantage of a five-point run to move their lead out of reach of the Gusties.
Spencer Swanson once again led the Gustie offense, shooting 10-for-15 from the field for 25 points, including a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc. Swanson also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.
Evan Wieker, who scored only six points in Friday's game at UW-Whitewater, posted 19 against Platteville, finishing the day 7-for-9 from the field. As a team, the Gusties shot 53 percent from the field.
The Gusties head back to Wisconsin next week, facing UW-River Falls on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Gustavus stays in Wisconsin and will play at UW-Platteville at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
