UW-Whitewater, ranked seventh in the national poll of Division III teams, defeated UW-Superior 88-73 in Kachel Gym of Williams Center in Whitewater, Wisconsin Saturday afternoon.
box score
photo gallery (courtesy of Joy Kowald)
UW-W opened the game with a 10-0, seven of the points coming from senior guard Matt Goodwin (Milwaukee/King). The Warhawks' margin was less than ten only twice, the last at 12-5 at the 16:01 mark in the first half. Before the half ended UW-W had built its lead back to nineteen, twice, at 43-24 and 47-28, the last with just over a minute left in the half.
Whitewater doubled Superior's scoring early in the second half to open up a twenty-three point bulge at 67-44 and 70-47, both midway through the half. The Yellowjackets never got closer than fourteen points the rest of the way.
The Warhawks had a big advantage at the free throw line, hitting 15-18 while Superior made 3-8. While the Yellowjackets shot well from the floor, 31-61 (50%), UW-W was even hotter hit 33-55 (60%).
Myles McKay (Menomonee Falls/Menomonee Falls) led the Warhawks with 19 points, followed by Goodwin's 17. Center Dustin Mitchell (Lac Du Flambeau/Lakeland) added 14 and point guard Phil Negri (Minocgua/Lakeland) 12. Goodwin led both teams with seven rebounds and three steals, and Negri tied for game-high honors with five assists.
Superior, playing without two starters, was led by sophomore forward Jake Smith, who scored a game-high 29 points. Smith, who came in to the game averaging 18 points per game, hit 13-25 from the field, including 2-5 from beyond the arc. Steve Birman and Ben Aalfs added 14 and 13, respectively. Aalfs made his first start of the season Saturday, and Birman, who was averaging four minutes per game, played twenty-nine against UW-W. Dustin Ritchie contributed five assists for UW-S, and three players, including Aalfs and Birman, had four rebounds.
UW-Whitewater is 15-3 overall and 7-2 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. UW-Superior is 9-10 overall and 2-7 in league play.
Whitewater will play at UW-La Crosse Wednesday, January 28. The next home game for the Warhawks will be Saturday, February 7 at 1:00 with UW-Stout visiting Kachel Gym in Williams Center. Call 262-472-2222 for ticket information.
For additional information: Pat Miller, UW-W coach
