The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's basketball team defeated UW-River Falls 67-59 on Saturday evening. In the wire-to-wire game, the Warhawks put together a 9-0 run to take the lead late to pull out their first conference win of the season.

The Warhawks got behind early, with the Falcons putting together a 13-0 run to jump out to a 17-8 lead. The Warhawks started to get their footing, but the Falcons hit back-to-back three's to take a 10-point lead with just 7-minutes remaining in the half. 

In the last few minutes of the half, UW-Whitewater turned it around with a 14-4 run. Richie Warren (Racine, Wis./Park) capped the run by a posterizing dunk, finishing the old-fashioned three-point play to tie the game at 29.

UW-River Falls had their own three-point play on the other end, but an Austin Ambrose (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) lay-up helped the Warhawks enter the half down by just a single point.

Coming out of the break, the Warhawks started to pull away from the Falcons with an 11-3 run to start the half. 

With just 6-minutes remaining the Warhawks took a double-digit lead at 55-45. This time it was the Falcons turn to erase the double-digit lead, putting together a 10-0 run to tie the game at 55 with just three minutes left. 

Isaac Verges (Franklin, Wis./Franklin) got the momentum back on the Warhawks' side after the Falcons' run with an and-one lay-up. With the score back on their side, UWW tallied a 9-0 run to regain the double-digit lead with just 17 seconds left. The Falcons grabbed two free throws before the buzzer, with the Warhawks taking the 67-59 victory.

Verges led the Warhawks in his first game back with 16 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, & 3 steals in the all-around outing. Collin Madson (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago) added 14 of his own with a team-high 8 rebounds. 

Throughout the game, the Warhawks were able to capitalize on UW-River Falls mistakes, scoring 24 points off the Falcons' 18 turnovers. 

The UW-Whitewater men's team will head out on the road for a big road test against the third-ranked team in the country. The Warhawks head to UW-La Crosse on January 14th for a 7 PM game against the top-ranked Eagles.