The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's basketball team erased a 10-point deficit in the second half and held leads in the final minute of both regulation and overtime on Saturday but was unable to hold the lead in a 69-67 setback against UW-River Falls in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest at Kachel Gymnasium.
 
Trailing by 10 points in the first minute of the second half, the Warhawks (12-9 overall, 5-5 WIAC) trimmed their deficit to one point at the 14:42 mark thanks to a layup by Trevon Chislom (McFarland, Wis./McFarland).
 
After the Falcons (11-8, 4-6) pushed their lead back to nine points with 13:17 on the clock, UW-Whitewater chipped away and tied the game at 49-49 following a 3-point play by Carter Capstran (Franklin, Wis./Franklin) with 7:57 remaining. UW-W took its first lead of the period at 56-55 on a 3-pointer by Derek Gray (Madison, Wis./La Follette) with 3:47 to go.
 
The two teams traded buckets before Gray put the Warhawks ahead on a jumper with 54 seconds left, but UW-River Falls tied the game on a pair of free throws with 36 seconds left to force overtime.
 
The Falcons led by three with 2:52 to play in overtime before Gage Malensek (Brookfield, Wis./Central) converted a layup and Capstran gave UW-W a two-point lead on a 3-pointer with 1:01 on the clock.
 
UW-River Falls converted a 3-point play with 12 seconds to take the lead and maintained the advantage thanks to a block on the other end in the final seconds.
 
Gray collected 16 points, six rebounds and five assists to lead UW-Whitewater, which was held to 37.9 percent shooting from the floor for the game. Capstran finished with 13 points and six rebounds, while Malensek totaled 13 points and four assists.
 
Jack Brahm (Bayside, Wis./Glendale Nicolet), who was recognized along with fellow seniors Brian Conaghan (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) and Paul Kingsley (Chicago, Ill./St. Rita of Cascia) prior to the start of the game, tallied 11 points, seven rebounds and three steals.
 
The Falcons led by nine points at the midway point of the first half. The Warhawks whittled the deficit to as low as four but trailed by seven at halftime. UW-W was held to 32.1 percent shooting in the period.
 
UW-Whitewater visits No. 2 UW-Platteville Wednesday at 7 p.m.