Just three weeks ago, the UW-Whitewater Men’s Basketball team fell to UW-Stout in dramatic fashion. Blue Devil forward Brody Fox hit a contested layup as the buzzer sounded, handing the Warhawks their second-straight loss.
The Warhawks did not let that happen again. Through a strong defensive effort, they defeated the Blue Devils 79-46 Feb. 3. Their 46 points allowed is the lowest number of points they have allowed in a single game this season.
“Our defensive effort was tremendous today,” head coach Jarod Wichser said. “We have multiple guys that we can go to and it can be difficult for teams even if they have size.”
The Blue Devils shot 24.6% from the field and 21.7% from outside the arc, both totals much lower than their 45.7% and 33.8% averages, respectively. The Warhawks found ways to exploit that through quick buckets and efficient off-ball action, combatting Stout’s numbers by shooting 47.6% from the field.
“The simple help from Jameer [Barker] and all the other guards that came off the non-shooters was a huge contribution to our win,” senior guard Delvin Barnstable said.
The Warhawks got off to an extremely hot start in this matchup, scoring nine points in the first 92 seconds. After the Blue Devils hit their first shot of the game, the Warhawks went on a 19-0 run with six different players contributing. In this 28-2 stretch, the Blue Devils shot 1-25 from the field.
“Some of that was they missed some shots, but I just didn’t think they had many easy looks,” Wichser said. “Even the looks they got, they had to shoot them quickly.”
Stout caught some momentum to end the half, outscoring the Warhawks in the final nine minutes to close the lead to 41-20 to end the half. A lot of the early success came from inside the paint, both offensively and defensively. Against a team that scores a lot of their points from inside the arc, they scored 22 points in the paint and allowed only six.
“We knew that once we got into the paint, they were going to try and double down on us,” senior forward Trevon Chislom said. “We had cutters and a lot of different people moving on the outside. It freed us up inside”
The Warhawks brought the same intensity in the second half, scoring 11 unanswered points to begin the half. After extending their lead to 61-26, Stout’s Fox, the WIAC’s leading scorer, subbed out of the game for the final time, being held to a season-low six points on 2-9 shooting.
“Delvin [Barnstable] was matched up with him, but Jameer [Barker] and Isaac Vergas were big time helpers, [Carter] Capstran and Trevon [Chislom] were big time helpers, it was a team effort,” Wichser said.
Once the Warhawks took a 41-point lead, they began giving everyone opportunities to everyone on the roster. From three-point buckets from guard Jake Quast to dunk attempts from wing JR Lukenbill, the bench was electric and team chemistry was on show.
“Our team chemistry is in a better place than it’s been probably all year,” Wichser said. “We’re going to need that moving forward because it’s easy to be connected when things are going well.”
The Warhawks may have won by 33 points, but another important feat was accomplished during the game. After scoring a driving layup four minutes into the game, Delvin Barnstable reached the 1,000-career points milestone, doing so in three seasons (one with Marian University).
“I guess that’s not been a super big goal of mine, but to hear that is pretty neat,” Barnstable said. “I’m just staying level-headed, paying attention to the little things and just working as hard as I can.”
Barnstable is known as a high-effort smart basketball player on the court, but he is also known as a hard worker, a compassionate teammate and a phenomenal human across his peers. His teammates, his coaching staff and Warhawk Nation are all proud of him.
The Warhawks are back in action at Kachel Gymnasium Wednesday, where they host UW-Stevens Point for their second matchup of the season. Coach Wichser and his team hope to have the same defensive effort from Saturday as they look to avenge their loss to the Pointers.
