UW-Whitewater won for the seventh time in eight games, defeating UW-Eau Claire 74-62 in McPhee Gymnasium in Eau Claire, Wisconsin Saturday afternoon.
UW-Eau Claire started out fast, leading 9-2 at 16:40. Whitewater came back with a 12-0 run, five coming from freshman guard Eric Bryson, to take a 14-9 lead. The 12-0 streak was part of a five minute, 23-5 streak for UW-W that gave the Warhawks their largest lead of the half, 25-14 on a fast break lay-in by Alex Edmunds. After an exchange of baskets UW-W duplicated the 11 point margin. The half ended with Whitewater in the lead 35-28.
Eau Claire shot 58% in the half, but didn't get many shot attempts as they committed nine turnovers. Whitewater made six three point shots, to three for the Blugolds, and had just three turnovers. UW-W junior center Chris Davis led both teams with 14 points, and UW-EC point guard Marcu Ruh had nine.
Whitewater led by double digits most of the second half, with the largest bulge 16 at 48-32 after two free throws by Davis at 14:04. The closest UW-EC got was 61-54 with 2:49 remaining on a Ruh fastbreak lay-in.
Eau Claire continued to shoot well all game, hitting 58% from the floor. That total was somewhat negated by hitting just 3-7 three pointers and 5-6 from the line. Whitewater shot 47%, but made 7-19 threes and went 15-16 from the line. The Warhawks also committed a season low five turnovers.
Davis led both teams with 29 points, including 4-6 from beyond the arc. Davis also topped UW-W with three steals. Sophomore guard Antone Byrd added 16, and Edmunds 14 for UW-W. Davis topped the Warhawks with seven rebounds, and Byrd dished out a team season high ten assists (and just one turnover).
Senior center Amadou Fofana wound up leading UW-EC with 22 points, eighteen coming in the second half. Ruh scored 19 and shared the team lead with three assists, with sophomore forward Nick Craggs chipping in with 13 points and three assists.
Whitewater, 11-5 overall, moves above .500 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference at 4-3. UW-EC is 8-7 overall and 3-4 in the WIAC.
UW-W will host UW-Platteville Wednesday the 19th at 7:00 in Kachel Gym of Williams Center.
For additional information, Pat Miller, UW-W coach, 262-472-1146 or millerp@uww.edu