The No. 5 UW-Whitewater men's basketball team held the lead the entire second half to defeat UW-Stout, 69-55, in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup Saturday afternoon at Kachel Gymnasium.
The Warhawks (13-2 overall, 3-1 WIAC) drained nine 3-pointers and shot 45 percent from the floor to clinch the victory.
Senior guard Andre Brown lead the Warhawks with 20 points. Junior guard Dalton Menke added 11 points, junior guard David Sachs tallied 10 points and five assists, and junior guard Derek Rongstad contributed nine points.
UW-Whitewater and UW-Stout (6-9 overall, 0-4 WIAC) traded baskets for the first 12 minutes of the first half and as there were seven lead changes between both teams.
Brown hit back-to-back threes that sparked a 12-2 run for the Warhawks. Jensen contributed two dunks during the run to give UW-Whitewater a 10-point lead.
The Warhawks finished the first half with momentum when Sachs found Jensen inside that resulted in another dunk with seven seconds remaining in the half. The Warhawks led 32-27 at the end of the period.
UW-Whitewater maintained the lead the entire second half and shot 54 percent from the floor during the frame. Menke drained consecutive three-point baskets to give the Warhawks a 46-34 lead with 12:33 remaining in the game.
Sachs knocked down a jumper to give the Warhawks their largest lead of the game of 16. Sachs found Brown behind the arc and Brown sank the jumper with five minutes remaining in the game to continue the lead for the Warhawks at 60-45.
The Warhawks only allowed five points from UW-Stout in the last five minutes of play and held the Blue Devils to 37.5 percent shooting in the second half to help clinch the victory.
UW-Whitewater will continue play Wednesday, Jan. 17, against UW-Stevens Point at 7 p.m. at Kachel Gymnasium.