By Broderick P. Frye
Asst. Director of Sports Information
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men’s basketball team fended off a late push from UW-Oshkosh as they picked up the win in the WIAC opener.
The first half was a defensive battle, with neither team reaching the 30-point mark. The Titans had the lead in the beginning, but the Warhawks quickly bounced back and took the lead at the 17-minute mark and led the rest of the way.
The first half was a game of runs, with each team trying to take ahold of the contest. The Warhawks took an 8-point lead with a minute left, but two Titan field goals brought it within 4 at the break.
After a defensive first half, the offense came alive to start out the second. The Warhawks exploded and quickly gained their biggest lead of the night at the mid-point of the half. With 11-minutes on the clock, UW-Whitewater led 48-31. A few minutes later, Oshkosh closed the game back down after a 9-0 run of their own, making it a six-point game with five minutes left.
In the final minutes of the contest, the Warhawks fended off the Titans, keeping the game in their hands to finish out with their first conference win of the season, 62-53.
Miles Barnstable (Sheboygan, Wis./Howards Grove) led all scorers with 18 points. Barnstable also pulled down a game-high 8 rebounds. Trevon Chislom (McFarland, Wis./McFarland) finished with 14 points, and James Kelley (Milwaukee, WI/St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy) added in 13 of his own and pulled down 7 rebounds. Elijah Lambert (Racine, Wis./St. Catherine’s) (8) and James Barker (7) rounded out the Warhawk scoring. Barker also recorded 7 rebounds and 4 steals.
UW-Oshkosh was led by Will Mahoney with 16 points and 7 rebounds.
The Warhawks will return home for their next contest, taking on UW-Eau Claire on Saturday, January 6th at 5 p.m. The Blugolds fell to #24-ranked UW-Platteville, 74-69 in their WIAC opening game.
