By Justin St. Peter

Feb. 10, 2016

There is an old saying that is repeated across many sports that says, “Defense wins championships.”

Head coach Pat Miller said he believes defense to be his team’s biggest issue, but it was not the case in the ’Hawks 72-51 victory against UW-Stevens Point on Feb. 3.

“It was a good defensive effort,” Miller said. “Our issue has just been consistency defensively, and that was a game where start to finish, we were pretty good.”

UW-W took a 26-23 lead into the break before outscoring the Pointers 46-28 in the second half.

UW-W held the Pointers to 27.1 percent shooting from the floor and outrebounded the team 33-26. The ’Hawks shot a scorching 56.5 percent from the field.

UW-W had four players in double figures and were led by senior guard Trinson White who had 23 points and seven rebounds. Junior forward Cole Van Schyndel contributed 15 points and six rebounds. Freshman guard Andre Brown tallied 12 points, while sophomore guard Nate Hensel chipped in with 11 points in 19 minutes off the bench.

The loss snapped a three-game losing streak for the ’Hawks.

“It was a good win for us because obviously we have been struggling,” Miller said. “Even though both teams aren’t playing as well as we both had hoped or are accustomed to, it’s still a big rivalry game.”

The Warhawks then fell 74-68 to the WIAC-leading UW La Crosse Eagles on Feb. 8 at home.

UW-W kept it close in the first half and only trailed 26-20 at intermission.

“In the first half, we were too stagnant,” junior guard Haki Stampley said. “We were standing around the perimeter, not getting good cuts.”

In the second half, the Eagles stretched the margin out to as much as 15 with 4:11 to play, leading 63-48. The ’Hawks then cut the lead into single digits before playing the chase and foul game the final minute. Unfortunately for the ’Hawks, the Eagles went 9-10 from the free throw line in the final 52 seconds to seal the victory.

The Eagles shot 61.5 percent from the floor in the second half and were able to survive being outrebounded by the ’Hawks 40-26.

Stampley led the way for the ’Hawks with 20 points. White scored 20 points and pulled nine rebounds, while Brown contributed 10 points and nine rebounds.

“Obviously, if a team is shooting 61 percent from the floor, you are not defending very well,” Miller said. “We were able to keep ourselves close but not get over the hump and really challenge for the game.”

The Warhawks, 13-8 overall and 4-6 in conference, are tied with UW-Platteville and UW-Stevens Point for fifth place in the WIAC.

“Our backs are against the wall,” Stampley said. “We’re just trying to play hard every day and get as many wins as we can. Hopefully some of the other teams take some losses so we can get in.”

The ’Hawks travel to Platteville on Feb. 10 before hosting UW-Stout, who has yet to win a conference game at 5 p.m. on Feb. 13.