The streak is over. No longer is the two-time defending NCAA Division III University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball team invincible on their home floor.

Since January 1991, 96 opponents have invaded the Pioneers' home during the regular season and have been sent home losers.

Saturday night, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point put an end to Platteville's home cooking with a 77-63 victory over the No. 2 ranked Pioneers in a showdown of Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference leaders.

The victory was the first for the Pointers in their last 13 regular season meetings with the Pioneers and put an end to Platteville's 70-game WIAC home win streak. It also gives UW-SP a half-game lead in the WIAC standings.

The Pointers are 5-1 in league play, while Platteville and Eau Claire are both 4-1 in conference.

"This is a great win for us," said UW-SP coach Jack Bennett, whose team improved to 10-3. "I'm so happy for those kids. We beat a great basketball team, steeped in tradition."

"But coming in, I told the kids that it didn't matter what the numbers are, if we were prepared for this game."

The win marks the second time that Bennett has left Williams Fieldhouse as the winning coach. In 1997, the Pointers defeated the Pioneers at Platteville in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Saturday, the Pointers relied on a balanced attack to put down the Pioneers.

Five UW-SP players scored in double figures, led by WIAC leading scorer Brant Bailey with 22. Joining Bailey in double digits was point guard Brent Larson with 17 and Jay Bennett, Joe Zuiker and Gabe Frank with 10 each.

"I didn't realize that we had five kids in double figures," said coach Bennett. "I prefer that to having one guy carrying us all the time, although Brant is our go-to-guy."

Larson, a junior transfer from Central Michigan, spearheaded the Pointer attack, adding eight assists, five rebounds and just two turnovers to his 17 points. He was also 3-of-5 from 3-point land.

"That is why we brought him in here," Bennett said. "We had to have a point guard who could make plays."

Platteville, 11-2, was led by Merrill Brunson with 23 points. Mike Jones added 18 points for the Pioneers.

Jones led all rebounders with 13, but the Pointers finished with a 37-25 edge on the glass for the game.

The contest was tied 22-22 with just under six minutes to play in the first half when the Pointers used a 15-2 run to open up a 13-point half-time advantage.

UW-SP gained its biggest lead at 18 points - 60-42 - midway through the second half. But the Pioneers were not about to go down easily.

Platteville scored nine straight points to close the gap to nine at 60-51 with seven minutes remaining.

But the Pointers held back the Pioneers' charge to secure the victory.

While the win was a major boost for the UW-SP program, Bennett warned the Pointers that they could not rest on their laurels.