It took less than four minutes early in the second half for the University of Wisconsin-Platteville men’s basketball team to decide the issue against upset-minded UW-Stevens Point on Saturday night.

The Pioneers, locked in a 32-32 struggle with the Pointers for the first 20 minutes, exploded on a 15-0 run and went on to hand UW-SP a 76-56 defeat before a packed house of 2,082 fans at Williams Fieldhouse.

The win boosted coach Bo Ryan’s Pioneers, who were coming off their first league defeat in 31 games at the hands of Eau Claire four nights earlier, to 21-1 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with three games remaining and 19-2 overall.

The loss, which snapped a two-game winning streak, dropped the Pointers to 6-8 in the WIAC and 12-10 overall. UW-SP will conclude its regular season with a pair of home games this week, taking on Stout on Wednesday and River Falls on Saturday.

"It was a tale of two halves," said UW-SP coach Jack Bennett. "In the first half, we carried on the way we had been playing, defending well and getting stronger as the game progressed. I really had a good feeling at the break."

"We continued playing well for the first five minutes of the second half. I thought Platteville was a little tight until a crucial turning point took place."

With the score tied at 34-34, the Pointers got a steal and lead pass to Brant Bailey who has had numerous dunks this season. On this occasion, however, Bailey went up a little early and missed the jam.

"That woke up the crowd," Bennett said. "They hit a 3-pointer on an out of bounds play right after and then we had two costly turnovers which they capitalized on. You could just feel the momentum change and we got a little rattled."

"But the score really was not indicative of the kind of competitive game it was. Bo told me afterwards that the last 15 minutes was probably the best his team had played all season."

The game-breaking run for UW-P included a 3-pointer and dunk by senior Blake Knutson, treys by Merrill Brunson and Aaron Olson and jumpers by Dan Wargolet and Beau Buchs.

That sudden burst gave Platteville a 49-34 advantage with 13:15 remaining before Bailey finally ended the dry spell with a lay-up.

Brunson, a junior, poured in 21 points to lead the balanced Platteville attack. He hit 6 of 10 shots, including 5 of 6 from long range. Knutson, a former Wisconsin Assumption prep standout, contributed 15 points and six rebounds. Mike Jones, a 6-5, 220 pound junior, added 14 points and a game high 11 rebounds and 6-0 senior Olson 11 points.

"As far as I’m concerned, Brunson is the player of the year in the conference," Bennett said. "He can do it all and hit shooting from behind the 3-point line is truly amazing."

Bailey, who picked up two early fouls which restricted his court time to 21 minutes, led UW-SP with 13 points. The only other Pointer in double figures was Gabe Frank who scored all 10 of his points in the opening half.

"We are really looking forward to being home in front of our fans the last two games before the conference tournament," Bennett said.