Five players scored in double figures on opening night for the No. 24 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's basketball team, which shot a blazing 58.6 percent from the floor in a 98-82 victory at Anderson (Ind.) in a non-conference affair on Tuesday night.
 
The Warhawks (1-0 overall) also hit 9-of-18 (50 percent) from 3-point range and hit 21-of-29 from the free-throw line. UW-Whitewater out-rebounded Anderson 40-25 in the contest, generating a 16-5 advantage in second-chance points to offset the Ravens' 55 free-throw attempts.
 
Senior forward Derek Rongstad (Middleton, Wis./Middleton) led the Warhawks with 20 points to go along with four rebounds. Senior forward Melvin Brown Jr. (Milwaukee, Wis./Vincent) and senior guard Mitchell Pfeifer (Wales, Wis./Kettle Moraine) posted 15 points apiece, and senior guard Malik Clements (Fitchburg, Wis./Madison West) and junior guard Tywon Bressler (Milwaukee, Wis./Dominican) each recorded 10 points.
 
Brown led the team with eight rebounds, and Pfeifer added three steals on the defensive end. Senior guard David Sachs (Highland Park, Ill./Highland Park) collected eight points, four rebounds and a team-best four assists.
 
The Ravens (0-1) tallied the first seven points of the contest and led 7-0 two minutes into the game. The Warhawks trailed by as many as 11 points before tying the game with 6:54 to play in the half.
 
UW-Whitewater took its first lead of the period at the 4:11 mark on a 3-pointer by senior guard Dalton Menke (Rockford, Ill./Winnebago). Anderson scored the next 10 points to bring its advantage back to seven, but the Warhawks whittled the deficit down, tied the game at 45-45 with 15 second to play and took the lead into halftime thanks to a steal by junior guard James Fox (Janesville, Wis./Edgerton) and a layup at the other end by Pfeifer.
 
UW-Whitewater built its lead up to seven two minutes into the second half on a layup by senior guard Andre Brown (Kenosha, Wis./Indian Trail), and continued to add onto it for a 19-8 run to start the period. Sachs capped the surge on a layup with 14:57 to go.
 
The Warhawks never led by fewer than eight points the rest of the way.
 
UW-Whitewater returns to action this Friday at 7 p.m. as it hosts No. 25 St. John's (Minn.) at Kachel Gymnasium.