The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's basketball team took a double-digit lead just past the midway point of the first half and never saw its advantage dip below eight points from that point Friday night in a 73-52 season-opening victory at Monmouth (Ill.).
 
The Warhawks (1-0 overall) held the Fighting Scots to 34.5 percent shooting and held distinct advantages in rebounds (39-22), points off turnovers (27-7) and fast-break points (12-2).
 
Jack Brahm (Bayside, Wis./Glendale Nicolet) posted a team-high 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting to go along with five rebounds for UW-Whitewater, which shot 45.8 percent from the field. Derek Gray (Madison, Wis./La Follette) knocked down three 3-pointers on his way to 14 points and a team-best eight rebounds, and Gage Malensek (Brookfield, Wis./Central) posted 11 points, three rebounds and three assists.
 
Caleb Flaten-Moore (Ixonia, Wis./Oconomowoc) also finished in double figures in scoring with 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting to go with three rebounds. Jameer Barker (Racine, Wis./St. Catherine's) collected seven points and four rebounds, and Trevon Chislom (McFarland, Wis./McFarland) added six points, two rebounds and one block.
 
Monmouth (0-1) held its only lead of the contest at 2-0 just over a minute into the game. Gray and Chislom hit back-to-back 3-pointers, and a 3-pointer by Barker with 13:53 on the clock gave UW-W a 12-6 advantage.
 
The Scots fought back to tie the game at 13-13 with 11:01 left in the first half, but Brahm responded with a layup on the other end to give the Warhawks the lead back for good.
 
After the tie, UW-Whitewater scored the next 12 points, as the run was capped by a Flaten-Moore layup at the 7:56 mark.
 
Monmouth cut its deficit down to eight two minutes later, but an 8-0 UW-W run brought the lead up to 16 with 3:24 remaining following a layup by Carter Capstran (Franklin, Wis./Franklin).
 
The Warhawks' 13-point halftime lead ballooned to 21 just over five minutes into the second half on a dunk by Brahm. The Scots got as close as 14 near the midway point of the period, but consecutive 3-pointers by Gray pushed the UW-W advantage to 63-42 with 8:28 to go.
 
From there, UW-Whitewater's lead swelled to as high as 26.
 
The Warhawks return to the floor next Friday, Nov. 12, for their home opener. UW-W hosts Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.) at 7 p.m. inside Kachel Gymnasium.