The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater was unable to recover from an early deficit in a 77-56 loss at UW-Platteville in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game.
 
The Warhawks (6-11 overall, 1-5 WIAC) held the Pioneers to 37.0 percent shooting in the second half, but were unable to make a comeback.
 
Junior Equan Ards (Milwaukee, Wis./Hamilton) tallied 19 points, five rebounds, one assist and one steal to lead UW-Whitewater. Sophomore forward Breontae Hunt (Milwaukee, Wis./Bay View) had a stellar showing in his first game, registering 13 points and six rebounds in 22 minutes of play. Freshman forwards Trevon Chislom (McFarland, Wis./McFarland) and Rocky Martinez (Waukesha, Wis./West) each scored six points in the contest.
 
The Pioneers (15-2, 5-1) scored the first six points and led the entire game.
 
UW-Platteville found its largest lead of 16 points three times in the first half, the final time with 6:27 left on the clock. UW-W continued to chip away at the deficit, starting with a three-pointer and layup from Ards. Martinez hit two three-pointers within 52 seconds to tighten the Pioneers' lead to eight points. The Warhawks trailed 37-27 heading into halftime.
 
UW-P's lead increased to 23 points after a 7-0 run with 11:50 left in the second half. The Warhawks held the Pioneers scoreless through three and a half minutes, with eight points coming from Ards and Hunt.
 
The scoring streak began with a good free throw from Hunt at the 10:03 mark, followed by a layup from Ards. The men found back-to-back dunks before Ards found an extra point from a free throw to tighten the score to 60-46 with 6:35 left to play.
 
A layup from Chislom with 4:31 left on the clock put the Warhawks just 11 points behind the Pioneers. But a series of fouls allowed UW-P to grab an extra eight points and pull away for a 77-56 loss.
 
UW-Whitewater will be back in action to play UW-Oshkosh at Kachel Gymnasium on Saturday at 5 p.m.