The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's basketball team won its third straight game to wrap up a postseason berth Wednesday night in a 70-61 victory over UW-Oshkosh in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown at Kachel Gymnasium.
 
The Warhawks (16-8 overall, 7-6 WIAC), who swept the season series and posted their 15th consecutive win over the Titans, clinched a bid to the WIAC Tournament.
 
Junior forward Cole Van Schyndel (Kaukauna, Wis./Wrightstown) led a balanced scoring effort for UW-Whitewater, tallying 14 points to go along with 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Freshman guard Maurquis Turner (Milwaukee, Wis./King) contributed career highs of 12 points and eight rebounds.
 
Senior guard Haki Stampley (Milwaukee, Wis./Hamilton) and sophomore guard Nate Hensel (Wilmot, Wis./Wilmot Union) tallied 10 points apiece.
 
The Warhawks shot 20-of-25 from the free-throw line, including 16-of-21 in the second half to hold off the Titans (15-9, 8-5).
 
UW-Whitewater jumped out to an 11-4 lead in the first five minutes of the contest, but UW-Oshkosh took control of the game with a 10-0 run over the next six minutes of action.
 
The two teams traded baskets before the Warhawks took their largest lead of the game, 28-17, with 3:30 on the clock following an 11-1 run that included five points from Turner.
 
UW-Whitewater's seven-point halftime advantage was cut to one with 15:43 left in the second half, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Stampley and Turner increased the team's lead back to two possessions at 43-37 with 12:43 remaining.
 
From there, the Warhawks never trailed by fewer than four points, hitting 8-of-10 free throws over the final 1:09 of regulation to ice the game away.
 
UW-Whitewater, which is now tied for fifth in the league standings, is one game behind third-place UW-Eau Claire, its next opponent.
 
Tipoff of the Warhawks' regular season finale is scheduled for 5 p.m. in Eau Claire.