Northwestern jumped out front quickly and repelled a Warhawk comeback in the first half.  The Eagles led 12-4, then by nine at 17-8 before Warhawk sophomore forward K.J. Evans' jumper narrowed the gap to 19-16.  Northwestern pushed it back to 25-18 with a three-pointer, their fifth in ten attempts (while UW-W was 0-4), and then regained the nine point buffer at 27-18.  Senior center Luke Knoble pulled Whitewater within two with a rebound put back at 4:14, and sophomore guard Quardell Young's steal and layin also had UW-W within two at 31-29 with 2:24 remaining, but Northwestern went into the lockerroom with a 34-29 lead.

Whitewater shot 41% from the floor in the first half, but 1-7 from beyond the arc and 4-8 from the line.  Northwestern was sharper across the board, going 48%, 5-11 from long range and 3-5 from the line.  Eagle senior guard Wade Chitwood led both teams with ten points, with senior forward Ellis Libby contributing six rebounds and three assists, both high in the game.  Junior forward Reggie Hearn led UW-W with eight points.

Turnabout was fair play in the second half, with Whitewater using a 9-2 start to take its first lead, 38-36 at 16:42.  But, as in the first half, neither team was going to run away and hide.  The Warhawk lead reached 50-43 on an Evans' steal and layin at 11:37, but Northwestern whittled it down to a single point, 52-51.  Whitewater used another run, this time 8-0 after an Eric Bryson layin off a Young feed, to lead 60-51 with 6:34 on the clock.  Northwestern's Steve Willey hit a three with 2:48 remaining to cut the Eagles' deficit to 65-61, but after a Knoble basket in the lane with 1:30 left Northwestern was forced to foul and UW-W closed out the scoring at the line.

The shooting percentages flip-flopped from the first half, with Whitewater ending up shooting 47% for the game and Northwestern 42%.  Northwestern attempted 26 three point shots, the most by a Warhawk opponent this season (17 previously), making ten.  UW-W was 3-13 from long range, and even though the percentage won't please the coaching staff, the Warhawks outscored the Eagles 12-5 (12-21 to 5-8) at the free throw line.   Whitewater tied its season low with ten turnovers, while Edgewood had 15, and UW-W owned the boards 42-32. 

Four Warhawks scored in double figures, including Knoble with 14, Hearn 13, Young 12, and Evans 11.  Junior guard Alex Merg led both teams with 11 rebounds, and shared game honors with Young with four assists apiece.  Chitwood was held to two points in the second half, ending with 12, along with senior forward Tom Gisler and freshman forward Matt Watnemo for Northwestern.

UW-W will host Cardinal Stritch College Wednesday, January 2 at 7:00 in Kachel Gym of Williams Center.