Sitting at a respectable 17-8 record, UW-Whitewater’s basketball team charged into the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship tournament with high hopes. On a three game win streak, the Warhawks Their first round matchup was the UW-Platteville Pioneers who were 14-10 but their performance was that of a dominant opponent. The first half was an eyesore to say the least for the Warhawks as they shot an abysmal 14% from the field that left them heading into halftime trailing by 12 points. The Pioneers defense transitioned into the second half just as effective and they went onto seal the victory with a final score of 77-60. Senior guard Andre Brown led the Warhawks in scoring with 19 points, an solid exit game for his Warhawk basketball career with his upcoming graduation in spring. With this loss, UW-Whitewater is not expected to be invited to the NCAA tournament which is a disappointment for the team seeing that they have a tradition of making it into the tourney.
Even with the sudden loss and unexpected finish to their season, UW-Whitewater has found a silver lining in the midst of anguish. The Warhawks roster has seven seniors who also played majority of the team minutes, however, towards the end of the season head coach Pat Miller gave more opportunities to his underclassmen players. The team was spearheaded by David Sachs and Andre Brown (pictured below),
two seniors who unfortunately will not be playing for the Warhawks but made sure their impact will be left on the organization. Brown achieved his personal goal of scoring 1,000 career points for UW-Whitewater and Sachs was described as the “perfect help” from coach Miller by his assistance with developing the younger players. One that benefited in particular was the second year player, Ricky Spicer, who has seen a sharp increase in minutes played within the past five games. He has averaged around 6 minutes per game compared to rarely getting in games earlier in the season. “I just try to seize any opportunity given to me,” Spicer stated “hopefully next season I’ll be getting consistent minutes. I feel like I showed my worth.” The fans and players eagerly await next season and undergo a successful transition of leadership and resume carrying UW-Whitewater’s winning tradition.
Game Recap:
UW-Whitewater Basketball Men’s Roster: