"Workmanlike" may be an overused adjective in sports, but it would certainly apply to UW-Whitewater's 66-55 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament semifinal win over UW-La Crosse Friday night in Williams Center in Whitewater.  UW-W, 23-3 and the 2012 WIAC champion, will host UW-River Falls, 19-7, for the tournament championship Sunday at 2:00.  River Falls defeated UW-Stevens Point 76-51 in the other semifinal Friday.

UW-W jumped out to an 8-0 lead on a three by sophomore guard Alex Merg at 16:16, and there wasn't much deviation the rest of the half.  Senior forward Al Chery pulled UW-L within four, 13-9, halfway through the period, and with 8:11 on the clock a three from sophomore guard Bradon Tice inched UW-L as close as it would get in the half, 15-12.  By 4:10 a three from sophomore guard Eric Bryson gave Whitewater its largest lead of the half, 24-16.  UW-L senior guard Cory Degner made two free throws with 2:23 left to cut the margin to four again, 24-20, but Whitewater scored the last basket of the half to take a 26-20 lead into the lockerroom.

Whitewater limited UW-L to 24% shooting from the field in the half, compared to 41%.  La Crosse kept it close with 7-9 free throw shooting while UW-W was 2-2.  Chery led both teams with nine points, and UW-W senior center Chris Davis grabbed ten rebounds.

Coming out of the lockerroom La Crosse turned the tables on UW-W, with a 6-0 burst.  A Tice three-pointer tied the game at 26-26, and Luke Tweed's layin at 15:34 put the Eagles in front for the first time, 32-30.  Tweed's next basket at 14:49 bumped the margin to 34-30.  

Over the next six minutes the teams exchanged the lead six times.  Whitewater finally managed to break the stalemate, with junior forward Luke Knoble laying in a hoop at 6:03 that put UW-W in front 50-44.  That lead swelled to 54-45 on Merg's two free throws at 4:18, and Whitewater still had a seven point margin, 61-54, when sophomore guard Cody Odegaard hit a pair of charity tosses with 1:03 left. 

Whitewater made a living at the line, hitting season highs in both free throws made (26) and attempted (32).  Knoble took game scoring honors with 19, hitting 7-8 shots from the floor and 5-5 from the line.  Davis contributed a double double, 13 points and a game high 11 rebounds.  Senior forward Alex Edmunds added 11 points.  UW-L was led by Degner and Chery had 14 apiece for the Eagles, with Degner also recording a game high four steals. 

UW-W will be making its sixth appearance in the WIAC Tournament title game.  The Warhawks are 2-4 since the first tournament in 1999, most recently losing to UW-Stevens Point in 2010.

The winner of the WIAC Tournament receives an automatic berth in the NCAA III championship tournament, which begins play next week.  The hopes of other WIAC schools will rest with a possible at-large bid.


For additional information:  Pat Miller, UW-W coach, 262-472-1146