The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater topped Ripon College 70-69 in a fast-paced thriller in Whitewater Saturday evening.
 
After an even first half, it all came down to the final seconds. Carter Capstran (Franklin, Wis./Franklin) swiped a steal from a Ripon forward with 33 seconds on the clock. One UWW got the ball across half court, Pat Miller signaled for a timeout.
 
The Warhawks ran an offensive set out of the break and as the shot clock, and game clock ticked down, they entered the ball into the post to Capstran. He created his own open shot in the lane for the 70-69 lead with six seconds to go.
 
Ripon called for a timeout and UW-Whitewater waited to see what five Red Hawks came out onto the floor after the break and their inbound set before calling for their own timeout. Ripon inbounded to their speedy point guard who flew up the sideline and was just able to get a pass off to a shooting guard. His heave from the corner as time expired bounced off the back of the rim for the final.
 
Both teams were efficient offensively in the first 20 minutes. UW-Whitewater shot 54% (15-28) from the floor. The Red Hawks shot 57% (13-23) from the field but were red-hot from downtown hitting 5-7 from three-point range in the first half.
 
The squads cooled down in the second half with UWW shooting 33% (10-30) compared to Ripon's 37% (11-30). The difference came from the free throw line where the Warhawks were 16-24 while the Red Hawks made 13 of their 19 tries from the charity stripe.
 
Drew Fisher (Oconomowoc, Wis./Oconomowoc) led UW-Whitewater with 15 points and eight boards. Miles Barnstable added 14 while Trevon Chislon dropped in 12. Delvin Barnstable wrapped up the double digit scorers with 11, adding eight boards in the contest.