The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's basketball team fended off a late Carroll comeback to walk away with their 6th win in a row. The Warhawks defeated the visiting Pioneers 64-60 in the Saturday nightcap.

From the tip, the Warhawks played a little catch-up, with the Pioneers quickly coming out with a 14-9 lead, but after the first media timeout, the Warhawks got back on track with three straight buckets, quickly taking their first lead of the night at 11:54 (14-15).

Carroll answered back with their own 7-0 run, pulling back ahead. The lead didn't last for too long, with UWW finishing the half with a 12-2 run to put the Warhawks up 36-29 heading into the break. 

Collin Madson (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago) ended the half with 18 points, gearing up for another big night from the junior guard. On defense, the Warhawks held Carroll's leading corer, Michael McNabb, to just four points. 

After the break, the Warhawks started to pull ahead. The Pioneers kept the lead to just single digits, until a Joey Berezowitz (Burlington, Wis./Burlington) three-pointer kickstarted an 11-2 run from the Warhawks to take a 17-point lead with just under 6-minutes remaining. 

The Warhawks were put to the test in those final six minutes, as the Pios slowly started to crawl their way back into the game. Carroll put together a 17-4 run in the next four minutes to cut the lead to just two possessions. 

Jake Quast (Hinsdale, Ill./Central) gave the Warhawks cushion with a lay-up with 28-ticks left on the clock to push the lead back up to six. UWW held off Carroll, despite an old-fashioned three-point play with 4-ticks left on the clock. 

Madson ended the game with 22 points to lead the Warhawks. Quast chipped in 10 of his own with a team-high 7 rebounds. Brock Marino (Lake Villa, Ill./Lakes Community) added in 8 points and 6 rebounds. 

Berezowitz led the way on defense, tallying four steals as the Warhawk defense forced 22 Carroll turnovers. 

Both teams were cold from behind the arc in the game. UW-Whitewater shot 15% (3-for-20) while Carroll made just one of their 13 attempts. The Warhawks made the most of the off-night, collecting 20 offensive rebounds, turning those into 23 second-chance points. Carroll had just 8 offensive boards with 9 second-chance points.

The Warhawks will head over to Michigan next weekend, taking on Hope College on Friday, December 20th followed by Alma College on Saturday, December 20th. 

UWW men will return home following the new year, kicking off the WIAC schedule with UW-Oshkosh on Saturday, January 3rd. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 PM.