For the third time in four games this season UW-Whitewater forced more than twenty turnovers as the third-ranked Warhawks defeated number seven Illinois Wesleyan University 71-65 at the Shirk Center in Bloomington, Illinois Tuesday. It didn't hurt that freshman forward Darnell Harris went off for 32 points, 21 in the second half as UW-W, 4-0, overcame a halftime deficit.
Illinois Wesleyan sprinted out to an 8-0 lead, six of those coming from junior forward Victor Davis. The Titans made that margin stand up for most of the half, with Whitewater eventually whittling the margin to 17-16 at 5:17 by junior forward Reggie Hearn. The Titans responded by building a 26-19 lead with 2:22 on the clock after a three by freshman point guard Bryce Dolan. Freshman forward Darnell Harris and sophomore guard Quardell Young hit back-to-back threes for the Warhawks to pull within one again, 26-25, with 0:53 on the clock. Two free throws gave IWU at 28-25 lead at intermission.
Harris led both teams with 11 points in the half, hitting 3-5 from beyond the arc. Illinois Wesleyan hit 52% from the floor in the half, Whitewater 38%, and pounded the boards to a 20-9 advantage, but the Warhawks stayed close by forcing 17 turnovers (while committing seven).
UW-W changed the complexion of the game in a hurry, outscoring IWU 14-2 to open the second half and giving Whitewater its first lead, 39-30, of the game. Junior center Luke Knoble and Harris accounted for all of Whitewater's points in the run.
The Titans answered with a run of their own, 11-2, to knot the score at 41-41.
Holding a slim 49-48 lead with 7:32 left, Whitewater used a 7-0 run to own some distance at 56-48 with 6:43 on the clock. The Warhawks eventually increased the lead to eleven, 68-57, with just 1:10 left in the game, which proved to be to much to overcome even though the Titans fought back within 69-65, after scoring five points in four seconds. Davis hit a three pointer for the Titans and on the inbounds Whitewater was called for a five second violation, and senior center Kevin Reed took the IWU inbounds pass for a layin. This time on the inbounds pass Whitewater found Luke Knoble on the post route, hit him with a pass and his layup ended the scoring.
IWU committed 25 turnovers, second only to the 29 Aurora had earlier this season, and more than any opponent UW-W faced all last year. Ironically, Illinois Wesleyan also had that dubious honor last year as well, turning it over 24 times in a loss to Whitewater November 30, 2011. The turnovers offset the Titans edge on the boards, which ended up 34-21.
Harris' 32 points is the most by a Warhawk this season, topping the 24 Quardell Young scored against Aurora, and the most since Chris Davis scored 33 in Whitewater's NCAA III tournament win over Virginia Wesleyan March 10, 2012. Harris hit 6-8 three point shots. Knoble pitched in with 18 points, going 8-9 from the field.
Illinois Wesleyan, a Final Four team like UW-W last season, is 4-1.
UW-Whitewater will open play in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Saturday, traveling to Menomonie to face UW-Stout for a 4:00 tipoff. UW-W's next home contest will be Saturday, December 8 at 3:00 with the UW-Eau Claire Blugolds visiting Kachel Gym in Williams Center.