The No. 18 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's basketball team saw its eight-game win streak come to an end Saturday with a 68-63 setback at UW-River Falls in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference affair in River Falls, Wis.
The Warhawks (19-4 overall, 8-4 WIAC) held the lead with 11:21 to play and tied the game at the 6:49 mark of the second half, but were unable to find another advantage after the Falcons jumped ahead 54-52 with 6:33 left.
A three-point play by sophomore guard/forward
Derek Rongstad (Middleton, Wis./Middleton) brought UW-Whitewater within one possession with eight seconds left, but UW-River Falls (21-2, 11-1) hit a pair of free throws with six seconds remaining to ice the contest.
Junior forward
Scotty Tyler (Grafton, Wis./Grafton) collected 16 points and three steals in 17 minutes of action. Rongstad tallied his second straight double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and sophomore guard
Andre Brown (Kenosha, Wis./Indian Trail) posted 12 points, seven assists and four rebounds.
The Warhawks held a 34-20 advantage on points in the paint but were outscored 15-6 at the free-throw line.
The two teams traded the lead for the opening portion of the first half. The Falcons posted an 11-2 run starting at the 8:52 mark of the period to take a 28-20 advantage with 5:20 on the clock.
The two teams exchanged buckets before Brown hit a pair of free throws in the waning moments of the half to bring UW-Whitewater within 34-28 at the break.
The Warhawks opened the second half on a 14-4 run, highlighted by a run of eight straight points by Tyler, to take a 42-38 lead with 14:13 left in the contest.
Three-pointers by sophomore guard
Maurquis Turner (Milwaukee, Wis./King) and Rongstad over the next seven minutes helped keep UW-Whitewater within one possession, but UW-River Falls tallied 18 points over the final 4:30 of regulation to emerge with the win.
The Warhawks return home for two games during the final week of the regular season, beginning Wednesday at 7 p.m. against UW-Oshkosh.
UW-Whitewater currently holds a one-game lead over UW-Eau Claire and is 1 1/2 games ahead of UW-Oshkosh for second place in the conference.
