Titans trounce Warhawks on basketball court

Karley Garcia

Sophomore guard Will Pytleski (21) turns back around to face freshman guard John Itounas (12), who’s looking for an open teammate to pass the basketball to on Friday, Feb. 12 at the UW-Whitewater men’s basketball game.

Nay Salter, Assistant Sports Editor
February 14, 2021

Both UW-Whitewater men’s and women’s basketball teams suffered tough defeats from UW-Oshkosh this past week. The athletes now prepare for face-offs against UW-Platteville in the days ahead. 

The men (1-2 overall, 1-2 WIAC) chased the Titans throughout the entire WIAC conference contest Friday, Feb. 12, but couldn’t pull off a win at Kachel Gymnasium. The third game had been cancelled due to potential COVID-19 exposure on the Titans team. Cleared to proceed, Oshkosh started the game by jumping in the lead with a score of 14-2 in just the first five minutes. 

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men’s basketball sophomore guard Gage Malensek (3) and junior forward Jack Brahm (24) watch junior forward Breontae Hunt (5) take a free throw during the Friday, Feb. 12 basketball home game against UW-Oshkosh. (Karley Garcia)

“There is a tremendous amount we need to work on for future games, but they are a good group and work well,” said head coach Patrick Miller. “We just need to continue to get better.” 

The Warhawks fought hard, but were held to just 30 percent in shooting. At the halftime they were still down by 13 points with a 20-33 score. 

Blocking the UW-Oshkosh players are junior forward Breontae Hunt (5) and freshman guard JT Hoytink (23). (Karley Garcia)

“Whitewater was able to get several offensive rebounds in the first half and we spoke about that at halftime. We knew we had to do a better job on the glass in the second half,” said Oshkosh head coach Matthew Lewis. 

During the second half, the Warhawks held held 70 percent in free throws and 50 percent in field goals, yet stayed at a disadvantage. Oshkosh held a free throw percentage of 100 and a field goal percentage of 68, which gave them the upper hand. The men lost 78-59 against the number 12 ranked Titans. 

Junior forward Breontae Hunt (5) looks for another teammate to pass the basketball to during the UW-Whitewater men’s basketball game against UW-Oshkosh on Friday, Feb. 12. (Karley Garcia)

The women’s team (2-2 overall, 2-2 WIAC) took a tough loss as well, finishing their Feb. 12 game 51-69 after the Titans took over the court in Oshkosh. The team mounted a comeback to draw within two possessions early in the fourth quarter, but was unable to sustain the momentum. 

Being blocked by a UW-Oshkosh player, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men’s basketball junior forward Jack Brahm (24) looks for an opportunity to pass the ball to an open teammate. (Karley Garcia)

“We have to box out, get on the offensive boards and get on the defensive boards. We just have to keep on playing our hardest and get all the boards we can because that’s really what killed us,” said senior guard Emily Schumacher. “We just have to come back and play hard.” 

The Warhawks closed in during the third quarter with a 6-0 run, but were still unable to catch up.

The women’s team heads to Platteville for a Feb. 17 tipoff at 7 p.m. and the men’s team will faceoff against the Pioneers at the same time in Whitewater at the Kachel Gymnasium.