Platteville came out of the chute fast, building a 9-4 lead.  Whitewater came back to edge in front 12-11 on a three-pointer by freshman forward Darnell Harris with 9:42 left  the half, and Whitewater never trailed the rest of the half.  At 4:02 junior post Reggie Hearn hit a pair of free throws for a 26-21 lead, and at the 2:50 mark Hearn added another free throw to give UW-W its largest lead of the half, 27-21.  After UW-P came back within one, junior guard Patrick Souter hit a three from straight on as the clock expired to give UW-W a 30-26 lead at the half.

Neither team could find the basket with a GPS, Whitewater shooting 37% on field goals and Platteville 30%.  Included in Platteville's shooting struggles was a 2-9 mark (22%) from beyond the arc.  Whitewater's halftime margin largely came from the line, where UW-W made 7-8 and Platteville 4-9.  The Pioneers offset their shooting struggles by grabbing 11 offensive rebounds.

Whitewater extended its lead to double figures, 49-39 on a KJ Evans putback at 11:03 in the second half, and eventually put the game away by extending the lead to fifteen points, twice, 56-41 at 9:07 on two free throws by junior guard Alex Merg, and 64-49 on the three-pointer by Merg.  Platteville followed with an 8-0 run late in the game to close within seven, 64-57, but UW-W junior guard Eric Bryson scored eight of his ten points in the game in the last 2:31 of the contest to keep the Pioneers at bay.

Whitewater regained its shooting eye, ending the game at 47% from the floor.  The Pioneers also improved, to 41% for the game.  UW-W made 7-15 three point shots, Platteville just 2-12.  Both teams attempted 21 free throws, with the Warhawks making 17 and UW-P making 11.  Both teams took care of the ball, with a total of nineteen turnovers in the contest. 

Knoble led five Warhawks in double figures with 15 points.  Harris recorded a double double, with 11 points and a season high ten rebounds.  Quardell Young added 13, Merg 11, and Bryson ten.  Young also chipped in with team highs in assists, four, and steals, three.  Platteville sophomore forward Jake Manning was the game high scorer with 16 points and tied Harris with ten boards, with junior center Chas Cross scoring 13 for the Pioneers. 

UW-W will trek to the northernmost outpost of the WIAC Saturday for a 1:00 tipoff at UW-Superior.  The Warhawks will return home to host the UW-Oshkosh Titans Wednesday, January 16 at 7:00 in Kachel Gym of Williams Center.  The UW-W ticket office, open Monday-Friday, can be reached at 262-472-2222, and tickets are available at the door on game night.