The No. 25 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's basketball team hit 10 of its first 12 shots from the field and shot 56.3 percent for the game Wednesday night en route to a 73-67 victory at UW-Oshkosh in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match-up in Oshkosh, Wis.
The Warhawks (13-3 overall, 2-3 WIAC) built a 27-8 lead midway through the first half and withstood a rally by the Titans late in the second to improve to 4-1 in games played away from home this season.
Junior guard Chris Jones tallied a team-best 21 points and added three assists to lead UW-Whitewater. Junior forward Scotty Tyler posted his fourth double double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Junior forward Demetrius Woodley and sophomore guard/forward Derek Rongstad pitched in with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Senior guard Drew Bryson collected nine points.
UW-Whitewater built its lead behind strong shooting in the first half, hitting 59.3 percent of its field goal attempts and knocking down 7-of-10 from 3-point range.
The Warhawks scored on their final two possessions of the first half on layups by Bryson and sophomore guard Andre Brown to bring a 40-25 lead into the locker room.
UW-Oshkosh (10-6, 3-2) whittled its deficit down to nine with 14:56 on the clock in the second half, but a 10-4 run that included five points by Woodley put UW-Whitewater back in front by 15 with 12:13 on the clock.
The Titans continued to cut into the Warhawks' lead, bringing it down to 62-55 with 5:36 remaining in the contest. Free throws by Rongstad and Tyler and a layup by Woodley pushed the lead back to double digits by the 3:00 mark.
UW-Oshkosh drew to within 70-65 with 49 seconds remaining, but Rongstad hit two free throws and Brown split a pair on the ensuing UW-Whitewater possession to account for the final margin.
The Warhawks have now accumulated 16 straight wins over the Titans, with the last loss coming in February of 2009.
UW-Whitewater continues WIAC play on the road Saturday at UW-Stout. Tipoff in Menomonie is scheduled for 3 p.m.