The UW-Whitewater Men’s Basketball team snapped their 2 game losing streak with a much needed win as they were able to go on the road and stun UW-La Crosse 65-63 in a close game. With this win, the Warhawks (7-12, [2-6 conf.]) beat the Eagles (15-3,[5-3])  and improving who are ranked 19th in the nation.  

Head Coach Pat Miller was very proud of his teams performance after the game. 

“That’s our best win of the year so far,” said Miller. “We’ve been making progress, we just haven’t been playing well enough to win games. I thought the difference in last night was that we finished the game better. We had some good defensive stops and our offensive execution down the stretch was better, which are all positives.”

In the first half, the Warhawks were able to keep pace with the Eagles, keeping the game close by trading defensive stops and creating offensive opportunities off of them. Despite while turning over the ball 9 times, Whitewater was able to stay in the game and only trailed La Crosse 30-26 at the break.

In the second half, La crosse took While they would hold this lead for the majority of the half, the Warhawks kept themselves within six points or less. Eventually Whitewater was able to battle back and take a 63-61 lead on a deep Bailey Kale 3-pointer with 1:23 left. Even though La Crosse was able to tie the game at 63 with 1 minute left, Whitewater went down the floor and took a 2 point with 32 seconds left after a Kale jumper. 

They closed out the upset with a defensive stand blocking a would-be- game-winning three-pointer as time expired.

Whitewater sophomore Bailey Kale was a huge part of keeping the Warhawks in the game in the first half, leading the team at the half with nine points, including six of his team’s first 10 points. In the second half he helped even more, scoring nine more and finishing with 18, including the eventual game winner with 34 seconds left in the game.

“Most importantly we came out with a win,” said Kale when asked about the game. “It was on the road, and La Crosse got us up at our place the first time so getting one there was huge.”

Sophomore forward Hunt came alive during the second half, logging a double-double, with 13 points and 10 rebounds including three 3-pointers in the second half. 

Hunt felt good about not only his performance but also the team’s performance in the win. 

“Overall a great win,” said Hunt.