By Justin St. Peter
Dec. 9, 2015
When looking at the schedule, head coach Pat Miller knew a home game against the No. 1 team in the country, Augustana College on Dec. 2, would be a challenge for his team.
The Warhawks held a 29-28 lead in the first half, before the Vikings pulled away in the second half and won 75-55.
“It is a great early test for us because it is a great barometer for where we are as a team,” Miller said. They exposed a number of weaknesses that we need to address. It was a great learning experience.”
Junior guard Ethan Guske tallied 14 points in the game, while senior guard Trinson White had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Sophomore guard Jerry Ngobi also posted nine points.
The Vikings hurt the ’Hawks on the glass with a 43-31 rebounding advantage that led to 23 second chance points compared to the ’Hawks 11.
The ’Hawks also struggled from the field, only hitting 31.6 percent of the team’s shots. The Vikings shot a sizzling 53.7 percent from the field, including 68 percent in the second half when they outscored UW-W 47-26 to pull away with the double-digit victory.
“We had a couple defensive breakdowns, especially in transition,” Miller said. “They just took advantage of our mistakes.”
The ’Hawks were then able to follow up the loss with an overtime road victory against Beloit College 73-71 on Dec. 5.
The ’Hawks were led by Cole Van Schyndel’s heroic 29 points on 13-20 shooting from the field and 11 rebound to post his first double-double of the year.
“He played great,” Miller said. “It was a situation where Tyler Edmundson and Isaac Quinn were both out with injuries. He definitely answered the call. . It was a really great effort from him, and we needed every point from him.”
Van Schyndel got some help from his teammates, as White tallied 11 points and three assists. Guske chipped in nine points, and Ngobi scored eight points and passed for three assists.
The ’Hawks trailed by seven points at the half, 38-31, before scoring the first eight points of the second half to take the team’s first lead of the game.
The ’Hawks outshot the Buccaneers 48.2 percent from the field, while the Buccaneers only shot 41.9 percent.
“We increased our defensive intensity, and we were able to get some stops,” Miller said. “They had a very difficult game plan, and we had a hard time keeping the ball out of the paint.”
Four free throws by White in the final two minutes, including two with 15 seconds left, sent the game to overtime.
Despite not hitting a field goal in overtime, UW-W went 6-10 from the free throw line to take a lead that the defense would not relinquish.
“Without having size inside (due to injuries), they were able to create a lot of scoring opportunities,” Miller said. “We got some stops down the stretch and were able to pull it out.”
The ’Hawks will take on Wheaton College at 7 p.m. on Dec. 9 in Kachel Gymnasium before taking an 11 day break for finals.
The ’Hawks do not start conference play until a game against UW-Stout at 7 p.m. on Jan. 6 on the road.
“Our league has suffered a lot of lopsided losses which we don’t typically have,” Miller said. “It’s an interesting year in that a lot of teams are battling experience and injuries. I think they will be different teams in a month, so it is hard to project.”
