The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's basketball team put together a complete performance Wednesday to pick up its second top-five road win of the season, defeating No. 5 UW-Platteville 78-75 in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest.
 
Four players scored in double figures to lead the Warhawks (13-9 overall, 6-5 WIAC), who shot 19-of-22 from the free throw line in the game, including a 16-of-17 clip in the second half and 9-of-10 over the final 2:11 of regulation.
 
Jack Brahm (Bayside, Wis./Glendale Nicolet) led UW-W with 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor to go with six rebounds and three assists. Gage Malensek (Brookfield, Wis./Central) tallied 15 points, including 8-of-8 shooting from the free-throw line, while Jameer Barker (Racine, Wis./St. Catherine's) recorded 14 points, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range and 5-of-5 at the free-throw line.
 
Elijah Lambert (Racine, Wis./St. Catherine's) also scored in double figures with 11 points for UW-Whitewater, which shot 48.1 percent from the floor, including 55 percent in the second half, and held the Pioneers (19-3, 8-3) to 42.4 percent shooting in the second half. UW-W also made 9-of-17 (52.9 percent) from 3-point range.
 
Brahm registered five points over the first three-plus minutes to help the Warhawks jump out to a 10-4 advantage and increased the lead to 14-7 at the 15:11 mark with a layup.
 
UW-Platteville chipped away at the deficit and tied the game at 19-19 with 12:20 remaining. The Pioneers held the advantage over most of the final 12 minutes of the first half and led 41-35 by halftime.
 
UW-Whitewater scored the first six points of the second half, tying the game at 41-41 with 16:26 to play following a jumper by Malensek.
 
The two teams traded the lead and neither team led by more than one possession until the 7:09 mark, when Barker made it 60-56 on a 3-pointer.
 
After UW-Platteville took a 61-60 lead, the Warhawks scored the next seven points, including a pair of free throws by Malensek, a 3-pointer by Lambert and a jumper by Derek Gray (Madison, Wis./La Follette) for a 67-61 advantage with 2:47 on the clock.
 
UW-W maintained the lead as the Pioneers drew to within one possession in the closing seconds. After Lambert knocked down a free throw to give the Warhawks a three-point lead, UW-Platteville was unable to get a shot off as time expired.
 
UW-Whitewater visits UW-Stout this Saturday at 3 p.m.