The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's basketball team fell behind early in the first half and was unable to recover Wednesday night in a 79-61 setback against No. 10 UW-La Crosse in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest at Kachel Gymnasium.
 
The Warhawks (11-6 overall, 4-2 WIAC) played evenly with the Eagles in the second half but trailed 45-27 at halftime after UWL hit 7-of-11 3-pointers in the first half and 51.4 percent on field goals overall.
 
Derek Gray (Madison, Wis./La Follette) led the team with 19 points to go with five rebounds. Carter Capstran (Franklin, Wis./Franklin) also reached double figures in scoring with 10 points.
 
Jameer Barker (Racine, Wis./St. Catherine's) collected eight points, and Trevon Chislom (McFarland, Wis./McFarland) finished with seven points after getting in early foul trouble in the first half.
 
The Eagles (14-2, 5-2) held advantages in rebounding (38-29), points in the paint (42-34), points off turnovers (17-5) and second-chance points (14-8).
 
UW-Whitewater led 7-3 through the first 2:37 of play following a dunk by Chislom. UW-La Crosse tallied eight of the next 10 points and took the lead for good with 14:05 left in the opening half.
 
Elijah Lambert (Racine, Wis./St. Catherine's) converted a 3-point play and recorded a putback layup over a two-minute span to bring UW-W to within 17-14 at the 11:15 mark, but the Eagles' 10-2 run made it 27-26 with 8:30 remaining.
 
The Warhawks cut their deficit to seven, but UW-La Crosse's lead ballooned to 20 by the 1:17 mark. Gray's floater in the final minute of the half made it an 18-point game.
 
UW-Whitewater tried to chip away at its deficit in the second half but was unable to strong together defensive stops and baskets on the other end. The Warhawks got as close as 14 points on three separate occasions, but the Eagles responded each time to keep their lead deep into double digits.
 
UW-Whitewater hosts UW-Eau Claire this Saturday for Alumni Day at Kachel Gymnasium. Tipoff is slated for 5 p.m.