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2022 WIAC Tournament Web Page
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's basketball team hosts UW-River Falls this Tuesday at 7 p.m. for a second-round game of the 2022 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament (presented by Culver's) at Kachel Gymnasium.
Tickets for the game can be purchased at the door and are $8 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens. WIAC students with a valid ID will receive free admission.
Tuesday's game will air live on UWW-TV on channel 100.1 on campus, Spectrum channel 989 for customers in the Whitewater area and online at
uwwtv.org. Fans can also listen to the game on KIX 106.5 FM WKCH in the Whitewater area and online at
kix1065.com.
The Warhawks (14-10 overall) earned the No. 4 seed and a first-round bye in the tournament after finishing with a 7-6 league record during the regular season.
UW-River Falls (14-9), the No. 6 seed, punched its ticket to the second round with a 77-42 victory against UW-Stevens Point on Friday in River Falls.
The winner of Tuesday's game advances to Thursday's semifinals, which will be played at No. 1 seed UW-Oshkosh and No. 2 seed UW-Platteville. The lowest remaining seed following Tuesday's games will play at UW-Oshkosh.
The Warhawks were defeated in both meetings against the Falcons during the regular season, including a 69-67 setback on Feb. 5 at Kachel Gymnasium. UW-W rallied twice in the second half and took its first lead of the period with 3:47 to play but was unable to hold onto the advantage as UW-River Falls forced overtime in the final minute. The Falcons took the lead for good with 12 seconds left in the extra period.
The Warhawks enter the conference tournament averaging 78.4 points per game, the WIAC's No. 2 scoring offense, while allowing 72.9 points per game, the conference's sixth-best scoring defense. UW-W shoots a league-leading 49.0 percent from the floor, good for 13th in NCAA Division III.
UW-Whitewater was fifth in the most recent NCAA Region IX rankings after road wins at nationally ranked UW-Platteville and regionally ranked UW-Stout. The Warhawks closed the regular season last Wednesday, falling 48-46 against No. 3 UW-Oshkosh.
Derek Gray (Madison, Wis./La Follette) ranks among the top five in the WIAC in points per game (18.4), steals per game (1.78), field goal attempts (351), field goals made (157), total points (423) and total steals (41). He was a three-time WIAC Kwik Trip Athlete of the Week during the regular season. Gray also leads UW-W with 5.9 rebounds per game and is shooting just over 40 percent from 3-point range.
Gage Malensek (Brookfield, Wis./Central) averages 12.0 points per contest and is among conference's top five in assists (88), assists per game (4.2), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.83-to-1) and free-throw percentage (80.3).
Other contributors in the backcourt rotation include
Jameer Barker (Racine, Wis./St. Catherine's),
JT Hoytink (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Sussex Hamilton),
Drew Fisher (Oconomowoc, Wis./Oconomowoc) and
Brian Conaghan (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier). Barker averages 5.2 points per game and shoots 36.5 percent from 3-point range, while Hoytink enters the week with 3.8 points per affair and 36.4 percent shooting from distance.
Fisher and Conaghan have appeared in 17 and 15 games, respectively. Both are shooting above 50 percent from the floor for the year.
Jack Brahm (Bayside, Wis./Glendale Nicolet),
Carter Capstran (Franklin, Wis./Franklin) and
Elijah Lambert (Racine, Wis./St. Catherine's) lead the Warhawks in the frontcourt. Brahm, a senior in his fourth year with the program, ranks fourth in the WIAC in field goal percentage (61.0) and begins the postseason averaging 10.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per contest. He also leads the team with 20 blocked shots.
Capstran ranks sixth in the league shooting 60.1 percent from the floor and averages 8.8 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. Lambert averages 8.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per outing.
Trevon Chislom (McFarland, Wis./McFarland) also ranks among the top 10 in the league in field goal percentage, making 58.1 percent of his attempts while averaging 7.1 points per contest in 23 games, including six as a starter.
Caleb Flaten-Moore (Ixonia, Wis./Oconomowoc) has made 11 starts in his 21 games. He is shooting 59.4 percent from the floor and scores 4.3 points per game.
UW-Whitewater is 22-18 all time in the WIAC Tournament, good for the third most wins in the postseason tournament in league history. The Warhawks were topped 81-76 at UW-River Falls in a first round game of the 2021 WIAC Tournament, which was adjusted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Chislom led UW-W with 21 points in the game.
