The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's basketball team was edged 71-66 by Monmouth (Ill.) on Friday night in a non-conference affair at Kachel Gymnasium.
 
The Warhawks fall to 2-3 as the Fighting Scots improve to 3-0.
 
Monmouth took the lead early in the game, but UW-W countered with junior Equan Ards (Milwaukee, Wis./Hamilton) tallying the first five Warhawk points after a jump shot and 3-pointer in the first four minutes. Sophomores Jack Brahm (Bayside, Wis./Glendale Nicolet) and Bailey Kale (La Crosse, Wis./Central) both put points on the board to tie the game at 10-10 within the next minute.
 
Freshman Trevon Chislom (McFarland, Wis./McFarland) found a layup about eight minutes into the first for the Warhawks to take their first lead of the game at 16-14. The largest lead that UW-W found in the first half was after an eight-point run with baskets from Chislom, freshman James Burks (Milwaukee, Wis./Riverside University HS) and Ards with nine minutes left to play in the half.
 
In the final five minutes, the Fighting Scots found 3-pointers in a row to take back the lead at 29-26. One minute later, Ards grabbed a defensive rebound, passed to Burks and dunked the ball off of the fast break. The last few minutes continued to be back and forth, as the teams went into halftime with Monmouth leading 36-35.
 
In the first five minutes of the second half, Ards found another fast break from his own defensive rebound to find a dunk at the other end of the court to put the Warhawks up 43-39. This led to a four-point swing with layups from Chislom and freshman Brian Conaghan (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier).
 
UW-W held the lead until the final two minutes of the game, when Warhawk fouls led the Fighting Scots to multiple free throw opportunities. With 43 seconds left to play, Monmouth scored a 3-pointer and the UW-Whitewater offense was unable to force the game into overtime. The Scots hit a pair of free throws in the waning moments to stretch their lead to two possessions.
 
Leading the Whitewater offense was Chislom with 18 points. Ards followed just behind with 17 points and six rebounds. Kale tallied 13 points, including three 3-pointers, and six assists to round out the leaders of the game.
 
The Warhawks shot 90 percent from the free-throw line (9-of-10) and shot 44.8 percent from the floor.
 
UW-Whitewater will be on the road for its next eight games, leading into the 2020 calendar year. On Tuesday, the men will travel to Rock Island, Ill., to face No. 17 Augustana at 7 p.m.