UW-Whitewater, ranked fifteenth in the D3hoops.com poll, defeated UW-La Crosse 71-63 in Kachel Gym of Williams Center in Whitewater Wednesday night.  The Warhawks up their record to 16-4 overall and 9-3 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.  UW-L is 13-7 on the season and 6-5 in league play.

UW-L ended the first half with a 12-2 run to take a 36-29 lead into the lockerroom.  La Crosse hit 6-10 three pointers in the first half when both teams had their shooting eye(s), with UW-W shooting 56% and La Crosse 58%.  Those long range baskets also helped overcome a 15-7 Whitewater rebound advantage, which La Crosse countered by committing four turnovers to nine for Whitewater.

Lucas Collom, a UW-L sophomore forward, went 5-8 from the floor in the first half and led both teams with 12 points.

La Crosse saw it biggest lead at 16:35 in the second half, 42-33.  Whitewater guard Alex Merg (Greendale/Greendale) hit a three at 16:07 which began an 11-2 run that ended with a 44-44 tie at 13:40.  UW-W extended that run two more baskets for a 48-44 lead with13:00.  By 7:31 the Eagles had surged ahead, 55-51.  Whitewater regained the lead, 57-56, for good at 5:48 on another basket by Merg, and the Warhawks pushed back their lead to 69-61 with 0:31 on the clock.  La Crosse was forced to employ the foul and stop the clock strategy, but Merg, fourth in the WIAC with a .833 free throw mark, hit four free throws in the last seconds of the game to seal the win.

Whitewater continued to shoot well, making 56% its field goal attempts while limited La Crosse to 36%.  Whitewater made the most of its opportunities at the line, going 21-27 while La Crosse made 7-11.

La Crosse was led by Collom's 18 points, with Jeff Heiden adding 13 and Braden Tice scoring 12.  UW-W also had three players in double figures, led by Merg's season high 24 points.  His previous high was 22 versus Cardinal Stritch January 2.  Senior Luke Knoble (Boscobel/Boscobel) contributed 12 and junior guard Eric Bryson (Elkhorn/Elkhorn) had 11.  Warhawk Darnell Harris (Milwaukee/Hamilton) led both teams with 12 rebounds, topping his previous season high of ten at UW-Platteville January 9. Whitewater made a living in the paint with 32 points compared to La Crosse's 10.

UW-W will host Saint Norbert College Saturday at 7:00 in Kachel Gym in Williams Center.  Saint Norbert 66-55 December 30 in DePere, Wisconsin.