The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's basketball team were able to close out the game against 18th-ranked UW-La Crosse, fending off a late comeback by the Eagles to take a WIAC road win. The Warhawks defeated the Eagles 63-60 with a 22-point game from Luke Bara (Muskego, Wis./Muskego). 

It was a defensive battle right out of the gates, taking a full 8-mintues before either team put double digits on the scoreboard. The Warhawks were the ones to hit that mark first, with an 11-2 lead with 12-minutes left in the half. Richie Warren (Racine, Wis./Park) fueled the run, scoring eight of those 11 points.

UW-La Crosse got some footing, but still couldn't break the double-digit mark until 5-minutes left in the half. The Warhawks built up a bit of their lead before hand, taking a 22-11 lead in the final stretch of the first half.

The Warhawks finished the half strong, taking a 33-20 lead into halftime against the 18th-ranked Eagles. Neither team hit a shot from deep in the first half, with the Warhawks missing five attempts, but the Eagles went 0-for-13 in the first 20. UWL also struggled from the free throw line, shooting just 40% (4-for-10) and the Warhawks capitalized shooting 81.9% (9-for-11) from the stripe.

Luke Bara (Muskego, Wis./Muskego) got things going for UW-Whitewater coming out of the break, hitting the first three-pointer of the game to set the tone early in the second half. The Warhawks built their lead up to 19, leading 49-30 with just over 13-minutes to go. 

The last stretch of the game, the Eagles were able to work their way back into the game as the Warhawks went cold from the floor. A 24-8 run for the Eagles cut the lead down to just three-points. All of the Warhawks points during the stretch came from the free throw line, with UWW shooting 0-for-10 from the floor in the 9-minute stretch.

Bara ended the run with 2:48 on the clock with a lay-up, the Warhawks first field goal since 13:34 left in the half. 

The Warhawks closed the game from the free throw line and on defense. With 90 seconds left on the clock, the Warhawks had a 63-58 lead. The Warhawks held the Eagles to just a single lay-up, not giving them an open shot to send the game into overtime on the last possession.

Bara led all scorers with 22 points, finishing a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line. As a team, the Warhawks converted on 74.2% (23-for-31) of their charity stripe shots. 

Isaac Verges (Franklin, Wis./Franklin) and Richie Warren (Racine, Wis./Park) each added in 12 points. Verges also pulled down seven rebounds. Jake Quast (Hinsdale, Ill./Central) had an all-around stat line, pulling down a team-high 9 rebounds to go with 6 points and three steals.

UWW will return to Kachel Gym for their next outing against UW-Stout. The Warhawks and Blue Devils face off on Saturday, January 17th at 5 PM.