The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's basketball rose up to the road test against No. 1-ranked UW-Platteville. The Warhawks took a commanding first half lead, and eventually held off a late Pioneer run to earn the 74-68 win.

UW-Whitewater kickstarted the game into high gear right away. Carter Capstran (Franklin, Wis./) opened up the scoreboard with a three-pointer. The Warhawks kept firing from there, going on a 12-0 run to early on. During the opening run, the Warhawks hit five of their seven shots from deep. 

UW-Platteville got their footing, slowly closing the gap, but the Warhawks kept the lead above nine for the rest of the half. 

Coming out of the break, UW-Platteville looked to make it a more competitive game. The Pioneers started knocking down their shots, slowly going on runs to pull the game closer. 

An 8-0 Pioneer run made it a two-point game with 13-minutes left in the game. The Warhawks kept themselves ahead, but two turnovers in a row gave UW-Platteville their first lead of the game with 8-minutes on the clock. 

Platteville extended their lead to four, but Luke Bara (Waukesha, Wis./Muskego) closed the gap back to one-point with a three-pointer. The Warhawks put together a 6-0 run, to go back up by three. Jameer Barker (Racine, Wis./St. Catherine's) added five points during that run.

With just 60 seconds on the clock, the Pioneers started to foul for time management. The Warhawks kept the game on their side, going 5-for-6 from the charity stripe in the final minute. 

Capstran led the way with 23 points, a career-high for the senior forward. Capstran was a perfect 7-for-7 inside the arc. 
 
Barker and Luke Bara (Waukesha, Wis./Muskego) each added 16 points of their own. Bara connected on four three-pointers while Barker rounded out his stat line with 8 rebounds and 3 assists. 

Collin Madson (Mukwonago, Wis./) chipped in 9 points and 4 rebounds, matching Barker for a team-high 3 assists. Jake Quast (Hinsdale, Ill./Central) scored 6 points, hitting all four of his charity stripe attempts. 

Defensively, the Warhawks held UW-Platteville to just 41.3% from the floor and 29.2% from three. 

The Warhawks will take on their second-ranked opponent in a row, matching up against No. 10 UW-La Crosse on Saturday. Tip-off in Kachel is scheduled for 5:05 pm on January 25th.