With five players in double figures, led by Myles McKay (Menomonee Falls/Menomonee Falls)'s 29, ninth-ranked UW-Whitewater defeated UW-Eau Claire 96-88 Saturday afternoon in Kachel Gym in Williams Center in Whitewater, Wisconsin.
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Whitewater seemed to have the game under control, leading 56-38 at halftime. The Warhawks still led by 21, 74-53 with 11:08 left in the game. That margin diminished quickly, with the Blugolds out-scoring UW-W 20-4 over the next five minutes to narrow the margin to 78-73 with 6:17 remaining. Twice, both times around the 2:00 mark, UW-EC pulled within one. Josh Prince hit a jumper to make it 85-84 Whitewatwer with 2:33 left, and Geoff Probst's basket at 2:08 made it 87-86 Whitewater.
After a McKay three-pointer and a Kori Vernon (Madison/Memorial) dunk put Whitewater back in front by six, Phil Negri (Minocgua/Lakeland) added Whitewater's last four points with free throws to give the Warhawks a ten point bulge, 96-86 with 0:18 left.
Whitewater shot 60% from the field in the first half to build a lead, and the Blugolds hit 63% in the second half to catch up. The big difference in the game came at the line, where Whitewater made 25-34 and Eau Claire just 6-7.
McKay made 3-6 three's on his way to leading all scorers. The 29 points by McKay is the second largest output of the season for UW-W, with only McKay's 31 against Cardinal Stritch December 18 higher. Vernon added 17 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Also scoring in double figures were Negri with 13, center Dustin Mitchell (Lac Du Flambeau/Lakeland) with 12, andChris Vines (Milwaukee/Washington) with 10. McKay, with six assists, led both teams and he also topped UW-W with three steals.
Eau Claire also had five players in double figures, with forward Geoff Probst contributing a double-double, 16 points and a game-high ten rebounds. Post Dan Beyer led UW-EC with 19 points, hitting 9-14 from the floor. Shea Ryan chipped in with 16, Colin Boone 15, and Josh Prince 11 for Eau Claire. Ryan contributed a game-high four steals, and Boone led his team with five assists.
The 96 points is the most UW-W has scored this season, and the 88 Eau Claire scored is the most the Warhawks have allowed in a game this season.
UW-W is 13-2 overall and 5-1 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. UW-EC is 8-5, and 2-3 in the WIAC.
Whitewater will play at UW-Stout in Menomonie Saturday the 17th at 1:00. The next home game for the Warhawks will be Wednesday, January 24 at 1:00, with UW-Superior visiting Kachel Gym.
For additional information: Pat Miller, UW-W coach
