The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Men's Basketball team fended off a late surge by the visiting Aurora University to defeat the Spartans, 82-73, in Kachel Gym. 

Both teams scored their first basket from beyond the arc, with Luke Bara (Muskego, Wis./Muskego) matching the Spartans' opening points. Aurora found themselves leading by just three at the first media timeout, but the Warhawks fought back and were able to close the gap, taking the lead with just 11-minutes to go in the half. 

From there, the Warhawks slowly started to pull away, doing so with a barrage of threes. The Warhawks went 7-for-13 from behind the arc in the first 20-minutes to help build a double-digit lead. UWW ended the half on an 8-0 run, with Kelton McEwen (Bartlett, Ill./St. Francis) hitting two three's, one at the buzzer.

Coming out of the break, the Warhawks kept their foot on the pedal, reaching a 20-point lead just four minutes into the half. The Warhawks kept capitalizing on the Spartans' mistake, scoring 29 points off of turnovers in the second half. The most memorable of those, a behind-the-back pass from Joey Berezowitz (Burlington, Wis./Burlington) led to a two-hand slam from Brock Marino (Lake Villa, Ill./Lakes Community). 

The dunk was a bit of a wake-up call for the Spartans, as they answered back with a 14-2 run to cut the lead to just six points heading into the last media timeout.

UWW fended off the late surge from the free throw line, converting on 10 of their 11 attempts in the final 3-minutes. The Warhawks earned all their points from the line, not taking a single field goal in the final 180 seconds. 

Aurora wasn't able to match the free points on the other end, with the Warhawks coming out on top 82-73. 

Collin Madson (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago) led all scorers with 24 points, hitting 3 of his 4 three-pointers, he added in 6 rebounds and 2 steals on the day. Luke Bara (Muskego, Wis./Muskego) chipped in 11, also making 3 three's.

Isaac Verges (Franklin, Wis./Franklin) finished with 9, while Marino had 8 with a team-high 7 rebounds. Berezowitz led the team with four dimes.

The Warhawks return to Kachel Gym for their next match-up taking on Simpson College on November 25th. The men will play the first game at 6 PM followed by the Warhawk women against Principia in another double header night at the Williams Center.