One might have thought the UW-Whitewater Warhawks were due for a letdown after their huge win over No.1 ranked and previously unbeaten UW-Stevens Point Wednesday night.
Nothing could have been further from the truth however. And unfortunately for the UW-Superior men's basketball team, it all added up to a long day for the home team at Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium Saturday afternoon.
The Warhawks hit nine of their first 11 three-point shots, jumped out to a big early lead and were never threatened in a 77-44 win that drops the Yellowjackets to 6-15 overall and 3-9 WIAC conference action.
For their part, UW-Whitewater improved to 19-3 overall and 10-3 in league action following up on their big win over the Pointers from earlier in the week.
Consecutive three-pointers by Eric Bryson and a fast-break layup by K.J. Evans staked the Warhawks to a quick 8-0 lead before a Zach Schradle (Clayton, Wis./Clayton) free throw finally got the Yellowjackets on the board to trail 8-1 with 17:12 left in the first half.
Two more threes by Bryson and another three by Evans pushed UW-Whitewater's advantage to 17-1 at the 14:45 mark before Bryson's fifth three-point shot of the contest gave the Warhawks a 20-3 edge with 12:14 remaining in the opening stanza.
UW-Whitewater only expanded their lead from there, taking a 38-15 lead on a basket by Evans before two free throws from Quardell Young and a jumper by Cole Van Schyndel brought the Warhawks' bulge to 45-19 at the intermission.
The second half provided more of the same, as the Warhawks built their lead to as many as 35 before cruising home for the win.
UW-Superior was led by Jarrod Peterson (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) and Brian Lindblom (Spooner, Wis./Spooner) with 11 points apiece. Schradle finished with 10 for the Yellowjackets as well.
The Warhawks were led by Bryson with a game-high 18 points. Evans meanwhile finished with 16 points in the win.
UW-Superior hits the road to face UW-Stout on Wednesday. Opening tipoff from Johnson Fieldhouse in Menomonie is scheduled for 7 p.m.