The No. 5 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's basketball team improved to 6-0 in true road games this season Wednesday night, downing UW-Eau Claire 78-65 in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference affair in Eau Claire, Wis.
 
The Warhawks (12-2 overall, 2-1 WIAC) shot 52.7 percent from the floor and hit 15-of-17 (88.2 percent) from the free-throw line, and out-scored the Blugolds 45-35 in the second half to pull away.
 
Junior guard Andre Brown (Kenosha, Wis./Indian Trail) posted a game-high 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting and added three rebounds. Junior guard Mitchell Pfeifer (Wales, Wis./Kettle Moraine) tallied 21 points, seven rebounds and two steals, and junior guard David Sachs (Highland Park, Ill./Highland Park) registered 11 points, three assists and two steals.
 
UW-Eau Claire (8-6, 0-3) jumped out to a 10-3 lead four minutes into the contest, but UW-Whitewater weathered the storm, eventually taking a 17-14 advantage midway though the first half thanks to a 9-0 run capped by a jumper from junior guard Dalton Menke (Rockford, Ill./Winnebago).
 
The two teams remained within one possession of each other until the 2:26 mark of the first half, when junior guard Mitchell Pfeifer (Wales, Wis./Kettle Moraine) gave the Warhawks a four-point lead and Brown added to it with 1:24 remaining on another layup.
 
The Blugolds halved the deficit to 33-30 by halftime.
 
UW-Whitewater maintained a lead between three and seven points for the first six-plus minutes of the second half. Sachs extended the margin to nine on a jumper with 13:32 on the clock, and the lead grew to double digits with 10:51 left after a Brown jumper.
 
UW-Eau Claire closed its deficit to four with 6:58 to play before Pfeifer tallied five straight points to make it 68-59 with 3:39 remaining. The Warhawks hit all eight of their free throw attempts over the final 43 seconds of regulation to close out the contest.
 
UW-Whitewater hosts UW-Stout this Saturday at 3 p.m. at Kachel Gymnasium.