• 
• CLASS
• JOBS
• AUTO
• HOMES

UW-Whitewater men survive La Crosse's upset bid

LA CROSSE — It was survival time for UW-Whitewater at UW-La Crosse in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men’s basketball Wednesday night.

The No. 6-ranked Warhawks staggered through a shooting drought, poor ball handling and the Indians’ upset bid to post a too-close-for-comfort, 64-61 victory.

Whitewater (16-3, 8-2 WIAC) made nine of its first 12 field-goal attempts, but missed 13 of its next 15. The Warhawks trailed 36-30 at the half.

La Crosse (8-11, 2-8) rolled to a 42-30 lead with 18 minutes left in the second half. Whitewater battled back to a 54-54 tie with six minutes remaining and took the lead for good at 59-56 on Tyson Kingsby’s three-point basket with 3:18 remaining.

Kingsby made one of two free throws with four seconds left to seal the victory.

Kori Vernon scored 15 of his game-high 25 points in the second half to pace Whitewater’s comeback. Whitewater’s Dustin Mitchell scored 14 points for the game.

The Warhawks’ top scorers, Myles McKay (20.6 ppg) and Matt Goodwin (14.4), combined for nine points. Whitewater committed 14 turnovers to La Crosse’s seven.

La Crosse’s Tony Mane scored 19 points, and teammate Trevor Stratton added 15 points.

Whitewater plays at UW-Eau Claire on Saturday.

WHITEWATER 64, LA CROSSE 61

Whitewater (64)—Goodwin 2-10 0-0 5, Negrl 2-3 0-0 6, McKay 1-10 2-2 4, Vernon 9-14 7-10 25, Kolinske 1-5 0-0 3, Kingsby 1-2 2-4 5, Mitchell 6-10 2-2 14, Vines 0-0 2-2 2. Totals: 22-54 15-20 64.

La Crosse (61)—Nereng 1-2 0-0 2, Stratton 6-15 2-3 15, Papendieck 2-5 0-0 6, Haass 0-5 0-0 0, Merklein 3-7 0-0 6, Mane,7-22 3-3 19, Scott 0-1 0-0 0, Chery 4-5 1-1 9, Kincaid 1-2 1-2 4. Totals: 24-64 7-9 61.

UW-Whitewater 30 34—64

UW-La Crosse 36 25—61

Three-point goals—Whitewater 5-18 (Goodwin 1-7, Negrl 2-3, McKay 0-4, Kolinske 1-2, Kingsby 1-1, Mitchell 0-1). La Crosse 6-17 (Stratton 1-5, Papendieck 2-3, Haass 0-1, Mane 2-6, Scott 0-1, Kincaid, 1-1). Rebounds—Whitewater 43 (Mitchell 11, McKay 8), La Crosse 33 (Chery 7). Assists—Whitewater 10 (McKay 3), La Crosse 10 (Papendick 3). Total fouls—Whitewater 10, La Crosse 15.