Related Links:Box Score River Falls, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's basketball team lost to UW-River Falls 80-66 in the first round of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship presented by Culver's.
The Warhawks finish the 2015-16 season at 16-10 overall, including a 7-7 mark in WIAC play, marking the program's 16th straight campaign with a winning record.
UW-River Falls (16-10 overall, 10-5 WIAC) advances to Friday's semifinals to face top-seeded UW-La Crosse. The Falcons finished 27-of-56 (48.2 percent) from the field. UW-River Falls also out-rebounded the Warhawks by a 37-33 margin.
UW-Whitewater was led in scoring by senior guard
Trinson White (Milwaukee, Wis./Riverside), who had 23 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the floor and added 10 rebounds and four assists for his ninth double-double of the year. Senior guard
Haki Stampley (Milwaukee, Wis./Hamilton) tallied 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting, including a team-high four 3-pointers. Freshman forward
Maurquis Turner (Milwaukee, Wis./King) finished with nine points and four rebounds on the night.
Stampley got the scoring underway by hitting one of his four 3-pointers just 54 seconds into the game. The Falcons responded with a three of their own to give the game its first tie. UW-River Falls went on an 8-2 run stretching two minutes of play to give them their largest lead of the half (8). A lay-up by junior forward
Cole Van Schyndel (Kaukauna, Wis./Wrightstown) got the game back to within six heading into halftime.
On the first possession of the second half, White made a lay-up just 14 seconds into the period to get within four of the lead. The Falcons responded with another timely three to get the lead back to seven. The Warhawks went on a 7-2 run lead by two Stampley 3-pointers to get to within a point with 16:45 left to play in the game.
UW-River Falls went on an 11-3 run stretching over a six-minute span midway through the half. The Warhawks struggled to find key defensive stops as the Falcons continued to open their lead with timely baskets.
The Warhawks applied a full-court pressing attack with just over three minutes left in the game, but were forced to foul. UW-River Falls went 8-of-12 from the free-throw line over the final 3:30 to seal the victory.
