The No. 17 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's basketball team clinched its 12th 20-win season in 16 years under head coach Pat Miller Saturday with a 70-68 overtime victory over UW-Eau Claire to close the regular season in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play at Kachel Gymnasium.
With the win, the Warhawks (20-5 overall, 9-5 WIAC) wrapped up the No. 3 seed in next week's WIAC Championship and begin the tournament Tuesday by hosting sixth-seeded UW-Stout at 7 p.m.
After UW-Whitewater tallied 10 of its 12 points in the extra period on free throws, the Blugolds (18-7, 8-6) had a chance to tie or take the lead after regaining possession with fewer than four seconds to play, but a long 3-pointer fell short.
Junior guard Chris Jones was one of four Warhawks in double figures with a game-high 19 points. Sophomore guard/forward Derek Rongstad tallied his third double-double in his last four games with 17 points, 15 rebounds and three steals, and junior forward Scotty Tyler posted 13 points. Sophomore guard Andre Brown added 11 points, five rebounds and three assists off the bench.
UW-Whitewater held UW-Eau Claire to 25.9 percent shooting in the first half to take a 30-22 lead into the locker room. Tyler finished the half with nine points as the team committed only three turnovers in the period.
The Warhawks' lead evaporated early in the second half as the Blugolds tied the contest at 35-35 with 15:11 remaining.
After UW-Eau Claire took its largest lead of the half at 43-39 with 9:12 on the clock, UW-Whitewater quickly fought back to take the lead and the two teams exchanged the lead back and forth over the final half of the period.
Rongstad tied the contest at 56-56 with his third 3-point play of the second half at the 1:22 mark, and after a pair of Blugold free throws, Jones tied the game on a driving layup with 37 seconds to go.
Following a defensive stop, the Warhawks had a chance to win the game but a contested layup attempt was missed to send the game into overtime.
UW-Whitewater took the lead for good with 2:50 remaining after free throws by Rongstad.
Jones and Rongstad combined to hit 4-of-6 from the free-throw line over the final 24 seconds of overtime to help ice the win.
Prior to the game, UW-Whitewater honored seniors Drew Bryson, Alex LeGault and Cole Van Schyndel. All three were members of the 2014 national championship team.
The Warhawks will make their 19th appearance in the WIAC Championship in the 19 years of the postseason tournament's existence. UW-Whitewater has won four WIAC Tournament titles in program history.