The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's basketball opened up the 2025-26 season on the road at Ripon College. After a slower first half, UW-Whitewater came alive in the second half, quickly building a lead to defeat the Red Hawks 76-58. 

The Warhawks started the game slowly, with Ripon College coming out with a 12-2 run to begin the way. Brock Marino (Lake Villa, Ill./Lakes Community) scored the Warhawks' lone first basket in the first five minutes of the game, but the Red Hawks pulled away quickly after a hot start. 

As the half went on, UW-Whitewater was able to slowly chip away at the lead. With just 6 minutes to go in the half, Colin Madson's three-pointer gave the Warhawks the first lead of the game at 19-18. Madson's three came amidst a 7-0 run for the Warhawks. The Red Hawks retook the lead after back-to-back threes, but Isaac Verges (Franklin, Wis./Franklin) converted on late free throws to put the Warhawks up 27-26 at the break.

Coming out of the half-time break, the Warhawks flipped the script from the beginning of the game, taking control of the game on a hot start to the second half. The Warhawks took a double-digit lead at the end of a 13-4 run capped off by a three-pointer from Austin Ambrose (Batavia, Ill./Batavia).

Ripon was able to get as close as seven points, but the Warhawks kept the foot on the gas, closing out the game on a 14-4 run to briefly put the lead up to 20. Last-second free throws from the Red Hawks ended the game with the final score of 76-58. 

The Warhawks dominated the glass, pulling down 36 total rebounds compared to the Red Hawk's 18. UWW tallied 12 total offensive boards to clean the glass in Ripon. The Warhawks also got to the line, scoring 22 points from their 33 free throws. 

UW-Whitewater had four scorers with double digits, led by Brock Marino (Lake Villa, Ill./Lakes Community) with 16. Senior Isaac Verges (Franklin, Wis./Franklin) added 15 of his own, as well as a team-high 7 rebounds. Collin Madson (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago) scored 13 with Jake Quast (Hinsdale, Ill./Central) at 11. Darius Chestnut (Sun Prairie, Wis./West) was just a point under from making five double-digit scorers, finishing with 9 points. 

UW-Whitewater will take a trip over to St. Louis for the Lopata Classic hosted by WashU. The Warhawks face the University of St. Thomas (TX) for the first round game on November 14th, then will face either Eureka or the host-school on the 15th. 

The men's home opener is on November 19th in the second half of a double header with the women's program. The Warhawk women will play Carroll University starting at 5:30 with the men's team taking on Aurora University in the later game.