Darnell Harris "breaks out" for 32 vs. Illinois Wesleyan

Darrell Harris arrived at UW-Whitewater fresh off playing his senior year of high school basketball at an elite prep school in Humble, Texas.

Harris brought a high profile resume, plenty of ability and great potential with him to U-Du-Dub. The freshman forward flashed that great potential by pouring in 32 points in Whitewater’s 71-65 win at Illinois Wesleyan Tuesday night in a battle of two D3hoops.com Top 10 ranked teams.  

“We got Darnell going and he showed a little bit what he’s capable of doing,” Warhawk head coach Pat Miller indicated on the KOOL 106.5 post game show.  

The freshman finished the game 11 of 19 from the field including 6 of 8 from three-point territory. He also grabbed 6 rebounds. Harris' 32 points is the most by a Warhawk this season and the most since Chris Davis scored 33 in Whitewater's quarterfinal NCAA III tournament win over Virginia Wesleyan last March.  

“He had that look in his eyes and he was playing with confidence,” Miller said. “He was definitely our go-to guys” 

Though just a freshman, Darnell brings some of the same attributes to the table that Chris Davis did the past two years. Left alone, Harris is a deadly three-point shooter and isn’t afraid to pull the trigger. Still needing to get stronger, Darnell has shown steady improvement with his inside game through the Warhawks first four games this season. 

UW-Whitewater will open play in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Saturday, traveling to Menomonie to face UW-Stout for a 4:00 tipoff. UW-W's next home contest will be Saturday, December 8 at 3:00 with the UW-Eau Claire Blugolds visiting Kachel Gym.

Hawk men now 4 & 0 with 71-65 win at Illinois Wesleyan

The game matched two of the top ranked teams in Division III and the game lived up to it’s hype. The UW-Whitewater men’s basketball team rode a 32 point performance by Darnell Harris on the way to a 71-65 victory over Illinois Weseyan at the Shirk Center in Bloomington, Illinois.

Harris, a freshman from Christian Life Academy Prep in Humble, Texas, hit 6 of 8 of his three point attempts in leading the Hawks to the high profile, non-conference win.

Luke Knoble also was red-hot by hitting 8 of 9 from the field for a season high 18 points.

Quardell Young chipped in with 11 points and a game-high 7 assists for the Warhawks.

UWW found itself down 8-0 to start the game. Whitewater eventually whittled the margin to 17-16 with 5:17 left in the half and found itself down 28-25 at halftime.

The Warhawks changed the complexion of the game in a hurry, outscoring IWU 14-2 to open the second half.

The Titans answered with a run of their own, 11-2, to knot the score at 41-41 in what was a “game of streaks.

Holding a slim 49-48 lead with 7:32 left, Whitewater used a 7-0 run to own some distance at 56-48 with 6:43 on the clock.  The Warhawks eventually increased the lead to eleven, 68-57, with just 1:10 left in the game.

The difference in the game was UWW being able to force IWU to turn the ball over. Whitewater forced 24 Titan turnover marking the third time in four games that the Hawks have forced at least 20 turnover.

Wesleyan had four players in double figures led by Victor Davis’ 13.

The third-ranked Warhawks stay on the road when they open conference play on Saturday at UW-Stout in a men’s-women’s doubleheader.

The men will kick off Saturday’s action with a 4 p.m. tipoff. 

To read Boomington Pentagraph game story CLICK HERE

Warhawk women fall 72-69 at Illinois Wesleyan

The UW-Whitewater women’s basketball team gave defending NCAA Division III champion Illinois Wesleyan all they could handle but fell short 72-69 in non-conference action Tuesday night in Bloomington, Illinois.

The Hawks led 35-30 at halftime. Wesleyan clawed back to tie the game at 47-47 at 11:12, largely on the back of junior center Lexi Baltes' eight points in the stretch. 

Following a UWW timeout the Hawks immediately went on an 8-0 run to reclaim a 55-47 lead.

The Warhawks could not hold the lead as the Titans made 16-19 charity tosses in the second half, compared to 5-7 for the Warhawks.  For the game, IWU was 22-27 from the line, Whitewater 7-10.

Kaitlien Thill took game scoring honors with 21 points, also dishing out eight assists to lead both teams.  Cortney Kumerow added 14 points, and Katie Burton chipped in with 12 along with a game leading eight rebounds.

Mellisa Gardner scored 19 to lead the way for the Titans. Lexi Baltes added 18, Colleen McMahon contributed 17 points as Wesleyan improved to 3 & 2 on the season.

The Warhawks fall to 3 & 2 and will open WIAC play on Saturday at UW-Stout as part of a men’s, women’s doubleheader. The  men will play at 4 p.m. with the women to follow at approximately 6 p.m.

To read Bloomington Pentagraph game story CLICK HERE

Warhawks to now play Tuesday men's-women's doubleheader at Illinois Wesleyan

 SPECIAL GAME NOTICE:  The UW-Whitewater women's basketball game at Illinois Wesleyan University originally set for Wednesday, November 28 at 6:00 has been moved to Tuesday, November 27 at 5:15. The game will be played in the Shirk Center in Bloomington, Illinois as part of a basketball doubleheader, with the Whitewater and IWU men tipping off at approximately 7:30. All four teams are ranked among the top ten in the D3hoops.com preseason poll

Mergs bring competitiveness to Warhawk basketball programs

(The adjacent photo is courtesy of the Royal Purple)

Tenacity, aggressiveness, and plain all-out hustle are attributes one desires in playing the game of basketball.

The brother and sister combination of Alex and Mary Merg bring those attributes to the UW-Whitewater men's and women's basketball programs.  The duo arrived on campus after successful high school careers at Greendale High School in suburban Milwaukee. 

Both were known for their competitiveness while growing up and that hasn't changed at Whitewater.

Both have similarities in their game. Growing up they would always practice together with their dad.  The similarities are most noticeable on the defensive side of the basketball. Both show incredible agressiveness and a ball-hawking ability.

Mary led the Warhawk women last year averaging 13.4 points per game and finished 3rd on the team with 53 steals.   Alex led the Hawk men with 129 assists and was second on the team with 41 steals. 

Why did the Merg's choose UW-Whitewater? "Alex was recruited to play basketball and he also was very interested in UWW's award winning Business School. It was also a good fit for his basketball," Alex's mom Jean said.

Graduating from Greendale High School a year later Mary also decided on attending U-Dub-Dub, but not because Alex was already there.  

 "I didn't choose Whitewater because my brother did," Mary said. "I chose it from an academic standpoint. They had my major and I knew the women's basketball program was really successful. It's just a plus that my brother is here too. 

For more on Mary and Alex Merg's story CLICK HERE

Nationally ranked Warhawk men and women at Illinois Wesleyan this week

The UW-Whitewater men’s and women’s basketball teams will be making the trek south on I-39 on Tuesday as both teams will take on nationally ranked Illinois Wesleyan University.

SPECIAL GAME NOTE: The UW-Whitewater women's basketball game at Illinois Wesleyan University originally set for Wednesday, November 28 at 6:00 has been moved to Tuesday, November 27 at 5:15. The game will be played in the Shirk Center in Bloomington, Illinois as part of a basketball doubleheader, with the Whitewater and IWU men tipping off at approximately 7:30. All four teams are ranked among the top ten in the D3hoops.com preseason poll 

Pat Miller’s UWW men’s team, ranked No. 3 in the D3hoops.com national poll, will collide with the eighth ranked Titans. 

The 8^th ranked UW-Whitewater women collide with 5^th ranked Illinois Wesleyan. 

The Illinois Wesleyan men are 4 & 0 and coming off a 62-56 win at Wabash College. 

The Warhawks enter the game 3 & 0 coming off two wins at the Carthage Classic in Kenosha.  Whitewater rolled over Aurora 106-68 on Friday evening. The Hawks defeated host Carthage 74-69 Saturday afternoon.

The Titans will attempt to avenge a regular season 65-53 loss to the Warhawks last year in Whitewater.

“It will definitely be a step up in competition,” UWW head coach said following Saturday’s win at Carthage.

With the WIAC portion of the schedule coming up on Saturday at Stout the Hawks continue to improve.

“It was a good win against a good program,” Miller told Voiceseyeonbasketball.blogspot.com after the win over Carthage.  “It was a hostile environment – a tough place to play and it will help prepare us for Tuesday’s game at Illinois Wesleyan.”

Whitewater, the defending Division III national champions, enter Tuesday night’s game ranked No. 3 in the D3hoops.com preseason national rankings.

Tipoff Tuesday night at the Shirk Center in Bloomington, Illinois is set for aqpproximately 7:15 p.m.

You can listen to  boths game with Gary Douglas on the microphone on KOOL 106.5.

To listen to the game CLICK HERE

Hawk Women D-Feat Edgewood 83-39

How dominant was the UW-Whitewater women’s basketball team’s win over Madison Edgewood Saturday evening? UW-Whitewater held an opponent under 40 points for the first time in twelve years, and forced 40 turnovers for the first time in more than two decades, in an 83-39 win over Edgewood College in Kachel Gym in Williams Center.

UW-W coach Keri Carollo used twenty-three players in the game and sixteen of them scored.

Merg led both teams with 21 points in 21 minutes of playing time.  The only other double figure scorer for Whitewater was senior center Cortney Kumerow with 12. Kaitlin Thill & Megan Theune each seven steals. Thill also finished with seven assists in the blowout win. . 

The last time a Whitewater opponent was held under 40 points was December 21, 1999 when the Warhawks defeated Muhlenberg College 58-37.  The 43 turnovers by Edgewood is the fourth highest total ever by a Warhawk opponent, and the most since UW-Stout had 51 December 9, 1989.

UW-W is 3-1, and Edgewood 0-4.

UW-Whitewater, eighth in the D3hoops.com preseason poll, will play at fifth ranked Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois Wednesday.  The Warhawks' next home game will be December 5 at 7:00 with UW-La Crosse visiting Kachel Gym in Williams Center