Feb. 3, 2016

By Justin St. Peter

The Warhawks men’s basketball team has been involved in seven straight games with a final margin of victory less than seven points.

The Warhawks (12-6 overall, 3-4 in conference) continued this trend with a 78-75 overtime home loss against UW-Platteville on Jan. 27.

“We got down late and were able to make big shots to send it to overtime,” head coach Pat Miller said. “Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get the win in the overtime.”

The ’Hawks trailed 41-35 at the half and were outshot by the Pioneers.

As soon as the second half began, the Pioneers stretched the lead out to 50-39 heading into the first media timeout with 15:56 left in the game.

Freshman guard Andre Brown, senior forward Trinson White and junior guard Haki Stampley combined forces and tied the game for the ’Hawks at 58 with 7:17 left in the game.

After White hit a pair of baskets to keep the ’Hawks close, it was Stampley’s turn for heroics. Stampley hit a layup to make it a one-point game with 39 seconds left.

Following a pair of Pioneers free throws, Stampley hit a game-tying three with 10 seconds left.

“It was a simple situation, trying to space the floor, and get the ball in our point guard’s hands and allow him to make decisions,” Miller said. “It’s hard to choreograph specific things at that point in the game.”

Stampley and sophomore guard Jerry Ngobi did most of the scoring for the ’Hawks in overtime, and Stampley had a chance to send the game to double overtime but saw his three-point attempt hit off the rim.

White led the ’Hawks with 20 points and nine rebounds in the loss. Stampley tallied 19 points and brought down seven rebounds. Brown was also in double figures with 10 points.

On Jan. 30, UW-W traveled to WIAC-leading UW-River Falls and fell 73-68 in yet another close game.

The ’Hawks led 38-31 at the half and outshot the Falcons 46.4 percent to 42.8 percent. UW-W had a 17-point lead with three minutes left in the first half, before the Falcons went on a 11-1 run to close the lead to seven.

The Falcons continued right where they left off in the final minutes of the first half, shooting nearly 60 percent from the field and outscored the Warhawks 42-30 to win the game in the second half.

Despite UW- RF’s hot shooting, the Falcons took its first lead of the game with 2:45 left and salted the game away at the free throw line.

“The most prominent statistic in that game was us going 16-33 from the free throw line,” Miller said. “Going on the road and shooting 48 percent from the free throw line is typically not going to be good enough to get you a win.”

Despite the three-game losing streak, Miller said he is proud of the way his team has kept working.

“This team continues to work hard,” Miller said. “Their attitudes have been very good. They have been practicing hard and learning a lot.”

The ’Hawks next play UW-Stevens Point at 7 p.m. on Feb. 3 on the road.