The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's basketball team pushed out to a halftime lead and held off a rally Saturday night in an 85-78 victory over NAIA opponent Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) in a non-conference affair at Kachel Gymnasium.

Junior guard Chris Jones shot 11-of-16 from the floor and 8-of-12 from the free-throw line for a game-high 32 points to lead the the Warhawks (2-0 overall), who finished with 25 points off turnovers and shot 24-of-31 (77.4 percent) from the free-throw line as a team.

Sophomore guard Andre Brown registered 13 points and four rebounds off the bench, and freshman guard Zach Knoblock posted 11 points and hit three 3-pointers.

Senior guard Drew Bryson chipped in with nine points and six rebounds off the bench.

Senior forward Cole Van Schyndel hit a 3-pointer to open scoring for UW-Whitewater, which never trailed in the contest.

The Warhawks increased their lead to 22-10 following a jumper by Jones midway through the first half. The Blue Raiders (7-3) drew to within five at the 7:51 mark, but junior forward Scotty Tyler converted a tip-in and Knobloch hit a 3-pointer to bring the lead to 13 with 6:07 left in the period.

UW-Whitewater maintained its double-digit lead and held a 43-30 halftime advantage.

The Warhawks started the second half on a 6-2 run. Jones capped it with a pair of free throws to give the team its largest lead of the game at 49-32 with 18:18 remaining.

Lindsey Wilson got as close as six over the next seven minutes, but a jumper by sophomore guard/forward Maurquis Turner and a 3-pointer by Brown pushed the lead to 14 with 11:44 to play.

The Blue Raiders whittled their deficit all the way down to three with 5:38 on the clock, but junior guard/forward Demetrius Woodley hit a jumper, Bryson hit a free throw and Jones converted a jumper to bring the lead to eight with 3:36 left.

Lindsey Wilson drew to within two possessions again one minute later, but Jones found Knobloch on a beautiful pass for a corner 3-pointer, and UW-Whitewater never led by fewer than two possessions the rest of the way.

The Warhawks open their road schedule next Saturday, Nov. 26, at Ohio Northern. Tipoff in Ada, Ohio, is scheduled for 3 p.m. Central Time.