The No. 8 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's basketball team was unable to find a rhythm Wednesday evening in an 84-67 loss against UW-Platteville in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown at Kachel Gymnasium.
 
The Warhawks (14-4 overall, 4-3 WIAC) were held to 37.5 percent shooting, including a 25 percent clip in the first half, while the Pioneers hit 62 percent of their shots, including 69.6 percent in the second half.
 
Junior guard Andre Brown (Kenosha, Wis./Indian Trail) collected 16 points to lead UW-Whitewater. Junior forward Derek Rongstad (Middleton, Wis./Middleton) collected 15 points, four rebounds and two steals, and junior forward Maurquis Turner (Milwaukee, Wis./King) tallied 13 points.
 
The Pioneers (15-3, 5-2) opened the game on a 12-2 run over the first four minutes, and opened up an 18-4 advantage with 12:47 to play in the half.
 
The Warhawks got as close as eight in the period after a layup with 3:13 remaining, but UW-Platteville scored six of the last seven points to take a 37-24 lead at halftime.
 
Junior guard Mitchell Pfeifer (Wales, Wis./Kettle Moraine) knocked down a 3-pointer to boost UW-Whitewater early in the second half, narrowing the deficit to 41-31 with 17:35 on the clock.
 
The Pioneers rallied to score the next 10 points and take a 51-31 advantage with 14:57 remaining.
 
The Warhawks slowly chipped away at the UW-Platteville lead, drawing within nine following a Pfeifer 3-pointer with 11:00 to go. The Pioneers responded quickly with five straight points, and never led by fewer than 10 the rest of the way.
 
UW-Whitewater begins the second half of the WIAC slate this Saturday at 7 p.m. against UW-Eau Claire on All-American Night at Kachel Gymnasium.