By Broderick P. Frye
Asst. Sports Information Director
The (#1) University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Men’s basketball team (5-1) battled from behind against (RV) Carthage (5-1) on Tuesday night, but the Firebirds had the final say, closing out the game with perfect free throws to pick up a 77-73 win.
The first half was back and forth, with neither team grabbing a strong hold on the game. The Warhawks had their largest lead of 8 with 6 minutes left to go in the half (20-12). But Carthage closed the gap, making it a 2-point game at halftime, 29-27.
After the break, the Firebirds torched the scoreboard, making three-ball after three-ball. With their shooting, Carthage put together a 32-10 run on the back of 4-for-5 from deep to go up by 17 with only 8 minutes remaining.
But the Warhawks kept fighting for the win, slowly chipping away at the lead. With just under 5 minutes left, UW-Whitewater exploded on offense, with Miles Barnstable (Sheboygan, Wis./Howards Grove) connecting with Trevon Chislom (McFarland, Wis./McFarland) for three to close the Firebird lead to just nine points.
The Warhawks forced four turnovers over the next two minutes and capitalized on each opportunity. Barnstable took his steal coast-to-coast for a lay-up, Jameer Barker (Racine, Wis./St. Catherine’s) came up with a huge steal that led to a Chislom fast-break dunk, and Elijah Lambert (Racine, Wis./St. Catherine’s) got his own lay-up off his steal. On the back of a 17-4 run, the lead was cut to just 4 points in a matter of minutes.
With 2:30 left on the clock, Chislom connected on an and-1 play, bringing the game within one point at 65-66.
On the next offensive possession, Lambert made a great selfless play. Lambert caught the ball at the top of the key, wide open. Lambert lined up his shot, but as soon as the Carthage defense collapsed on him, Lambert kicked it over to Miles Barnstable (Sheboygan, Wis./Howards Grove) who hit the open three to put the Warhawks up by one at 68-67.
In the last minute, Carthage closed out the win from the free throw line. Making all 10 of their free throw attempts to hold on to their lead.
UW-Whitewater was led by Jameer Barker (Racine, Wis./St. Catherine’s) and Trevon Chislom (McFarland, Wis./McFarland), each with 21 points. Barker added three assists, four rebounds, and two steals to his stat line and Chislom pulled down 4 rebounds.
Miles Barnstable (Sheboygan, Wis./Howards Grove) had a double-double, scoring 15 points and 10 rebounds. Barnstable also was strong defensively, recording two steals and a block.
The Warhawks return to action against Hope next week. The men’s team will travel to Holland, Michigan on December 6th for the 7 PM (ET) contest.
