La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's basketball team suffered its first home loss of the season with a 69-67 defeat to UW-Platteville Saturday night in Mitchell Hall in a match-up of top-14 ranked teams. The Eagles, ranked 14th on D3hoops.com, drop to 13-2 overall and 3-2 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). UWL is now 6-1 at home. The Pioneers, ranked seventh on D3hoops.com, improve to 14-2 overall and 4-1 in the conference. 

UW-Platteville raced out to a 10-3 lead after Kyle Tuma hit back-to-back three-point field goals. The Pioneers led, 12-5, when the Eagles used a 9-0 run to take a 14-12 lead on Luke Norcia's second straight three-pointer. UW-Platteville took a 19-18 lead with 9:53 left in the first half on a Alex Ranney layup, but UWL went on a 22-2 run to take a 40-21 lead with 2:48 remaining on a Norcia jumper.  The Eagles hit five three-pointers in the run.  

UWL led, 44-26, at halftime after shooting 55.6% (10-of-18) from three-point range. 

The Eagles led by as many as 19 points in the second half at 47-28 with 18:35 remaining on another Norcia three-pointer. UW-Platteville cut it to 52-41 on a Justin Fox layup with 11:54 left, but a Zac Haese three-pointer with 10:07 remaining gave UWL a 58-43 advantage. A pair of Tuma free throws with 6:57 remaining cut the lead to 58-50. Wyatt Cook hit a jumper and Haese another three-pointer to give the Eagles a 63-50 lead with 5:04 left. UW-Platteville then used a 17-1 run to take a 67-64 lead with :31 remaining after Drew Gunnink's three-point field goal. Carter Voelker scored 11 straight points in the run to make it a two-point game. 

Terek Nesheim tied the game at 67-67 for UWL with a three-pointer with :19 remaining. Voelker then hit the eventual game-winning jumper with :03 left to give UW-Platteville a 69-67 lead. Cook's halfcourt shot missed at the buzzer for the Eagles.

UWL shot 42.3% from the field, including 48.3% (14-of-29) from three-point range, and 56.3% (nine-of-16) at the line. Ethan Anderson led four starters in double figures for the Eagles with 15 points, finishing four-of-seven from three-point range. Norcia finished with 14 points, going four-of-six from three-point range. He added a team-high seven rebounds. Nesheim and Haese each scored 12 points. Haese was four-of-nine from three-point range. 

UW-Platteville shot 44.0% from the field, including 38.7% (12-of-31) from three-point range, and 76.5% (13-of-17) at the line. Voelker led the Pioneers with 21 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. He scored 18 points in the second half. Tuma finished with 14 points while Gunnink and Justin Stovall each added 10 points. 

UWL returns to action Wednesday, January 22 at UW-Stout at 7 p.m.