Warhawk men beat Beloit 75-68 in season opener

In the adjacent photo - Quardell Young takes the ball to the hoop as he leads the Warhawks with 17 points in UWW's 75-68 season opening win over Beloit College - photo courtesy of Josh Smith/Daily Jefferson County Union

  The UW-Whitewater men’s basketball team found itself down 17 to 3 six minutes into its season opener vs. Beloit College Saturday night at Kachel Gymnasium. The defending NCAA Division III national champions kept its composure – trailed by just seven (37-30) at halftime. 

Whitewater took its first lead of the night at 60-59 on an Eric Bryson three-pointer with 8:37 remaining in the game.  

The Warhawks shot just 37% in the first half compared to 59% for Beloit and Whitewater was outrebounded 21-12 in the first 20 minutes.   

Quardell Young led the Hawks with 8 points in the half while Beloit’s James Lazarcik was 6-6 from the field with 14 points and nine rebounds. 

The pace of the game shifted early in the second half as the Hawks became more physical both offensively and defensively. UW-W scored 18 points in the paint and 15 off turnovers in the second half. 

Young led the Warhawks with 17 points on 7-16 from the field and added four steals. Luke Knoble added 14 points and seven boards. Cody Odegaard wrapped-up the double digit scorers for UW-W with 13. 

Whitewater was 27-57 for a field goal shooting percentage of 47% in the game. Beloit was 29-58 for 50% from the field. The Bucs held the rebound advantage, 41-27. The Warhawks forced 22 turnovers including 12 steals while committing just 10 turnovers of their own. 

Lazarcik led all players with 23 points on a perfect 10-10 from the floor and adding 15 rebounds for the double-double. Tyler Butke added 22 points and Steve Mcafee had 14 for the Bucs. 

Whitewater will compete in the Carthage Classic Friday-Saturday, November 23-24 in Kenosha. The Warhawks will open the classic with a 6:00 game against Aurora University Friday. The other semifinal has host Carthage taking on Iowa Wesleyan.