It was a rough week for the Pioneer men’s basketball team, losing two consecutive games for the first time this season. The Pioneers lost to No. 2-ranked UW-Whitewater at home in a match-up for first place in the WIAC on Bo Ryan Court on Feb. 13 and suffered a road loss to UW-Superior on Feb. 16.

The Pioneers fell to 17-6 overall, 10-4 in WIAC, and dropped to fourth in conference play while UW-Stevens Point, UW-Oshkosh and UW-W fell into a three-way tie for first with records of 11-3.

The Warhawks came to Platteville Wednesday night seeking revenge from the Pioneers’ 79-73 win in Whitewater on Jan. 23.

The Pioneers fell behind early in the first half and found themselves having a hard time containing UW-W’s junior guard Matt Goodwin, who scored 12 of his team-high 32 points in the first half. The Pioneers were able to pull within one on a basket from sophomore guard Josh Langenfeld, making the score 25-24, with 7:05 left in the half.

The Pioneers would then go through a scoring drought for the next five minutes of play. Freshman Eric Wall brought some life to the Pioneers with a lay-up at the 2:40 mark, bringing the Pioneers closer to the streaking Warhawks and making the score 33-26 in favor of the Warhawks. The Pioneers went into the locker room at halftime trailing 38-28.

“Whitewater made adjustments from the first time we played them,” head coach Paul Combs said. “We had a sluggish start early and needed to play catch-up.”

The Pioneers chipped away at the Warhawks’ lead in the second half with baskets from junior center Jeff Skemp and Langenfeld. The Pioneers continued to crawl back into the game, and free throws from sophomore Curt Hanson and Skemp got the Pioneers to within four points with 15:36 remaining. A lay-up by junior Charlie Lohoff with a little over twelve minutes left gave the Pioneers a one-point lead, causing the O-Zone and the rest of the Pioneer fans to get on their feet.

A three-pointer by Pioneer freshman Nick Allen would give the Pioneers their biggest lead of the night at 48-42 with 10:26 left to play. The Warhawks were quick to answer back with a three-pointer of their own. Another three-pointer by Whitewater’s Myles McKay would tie the game up at 48-48. Goodwin would then take over, scoring against a depleted Pioneer defense and helping to give the Warhawks a nine-point lead with only 4:30 left. Goodwin was clutch from the floor, hitting 11 of 18 shots from the field. He also finished the night a perfect 6 of 6 at the free throw line.

UW-Platteville would try for another comeback, cutting the score to within two with a lay up by Hanson with 24 seconds remaining, but Whitewater converted on their free throws to close out the game. The Pioneers would have one last chance to take the lead, but a pair of missed free throws by Langenfeld left Warhawks in command. The Warhawks would go on to defeat the Pioneers by a final score of 70-66.

“We stayed together pretty well being down by 10 at the half,” freshman guard Wall said. “We gave it our best effort, but things didn’t go our way.”

Langenfeld led the Pioneers with 20 points, while Hanson was right behind with 17.

UW-Platteville then made the long trek to Superior Saturday to take on the Yellowjackets. The Pioneers were faced with adversity early on, with Skemp seated on the bench in foul trouble for much of the first half. The first half remained tight, as both teams continued to exchange leads. The Yellowjackets went into the locker room with a 29-27 lead.

The Yellowjackets continued to hold onto the lead, jumping out to a 10-point advantage midway through the second half. The Pioneers continued to struggle offensively, but pulled to within four with 2:42 remaining. That would be as close as the Pioneers could get, as the Yellowjackets held on for the 70-59 win.

Hanson and Skemp each had 14 points to pace the Pioneers.

The Yellowjackets improved to 9-14 overall and 5-10 in conference play.

“We didn’t play the way we know we’re capable of doing,” junior Charlie Lohoff said. “It was just one of those games.”

This week won’t be any easier on the Pioneers. The Pioneers end their regular season of conference play with two home games on Bo Ryan Court against conference leaders UW-Stevens Point on Saturday, Feb. 23. The game marks Senior Day for the Pioneers. The only senior for the Pioneer men’s team is Berent Froiland, a center from Viroqua.

“We experienced growing pains,” Combs said. “We need to learn from this past week and become a better team from it.”