La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's basketball team, ranked 20th on D3hoops.com, fell 74-71 to UW-Whitewater Wednesday night in Mitchel Hall. The Eagles drop to 15-5 overall and 6-3 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) while the Warhawks improve to 14-6 overall and 5-4 in the conference. 

The game was tied four times in the first 4:07. UWL took a 12-9 lead on a pair of Will Fuhrmann free throws with 13:42 left in the first half, but UW-Whitewater used a 12-0 run to take a 21-12 advantage with 9:47 remaining on a Drew Fisher layup. The Warhawks later led, 24-16, when the Eagles scored the next eight points to force a 24-24 tie with 4:50 left on a Fuhrmann dunk. Carter Capstran's five straight points gave UW-Whitewater a 29-24 advantage with 4:01 left. The Warhawks took a 36-30 lead on two Miles Barnstable two free throws, but jumpers from the Eagles' Ethan Anderson and Fuhrmann cut the halftime deficit to 36-34. 

Neither team led by more than three points in the first 17:00 of the second half. Craig Steele's three-pointer for UWL gave the Eagles a 58-56 lead with 7:21 left, but Trevon Chislom tied the game with a layup with 6:25 remaining. UW-Whitewater took a 66-63 lead with 4:17 left on a Chislom jumper and after a UWL missed layup, Jameer Barker's three-point play gave the Warhawks a 69-63 advantage with 3:25 remaining. Austin Westra connected on a pair of free throws for UWL to cut the lead to 69-65 with 2:31 left. Barnstable's layup gave UW-Whitewater a 71-65 lead, but Westra hit two more throws with :59 remaining to cut the lead to 71-67. 

After a UW-Whitewater turnover, Dustin Derousseau hit two free throws for UWL to cut it to 71-69 with :42 remaining. The Warhawks missed a pair of layups, but the Eagles were called for flopping with :21 left and Barnstable's free throw gave UW-Whitewater a 72-69 lead. UWL was forced to foul and Barker missed both free throws with :15 left. Fuhrmann's layup with :08 left cut the lead to 72-71. Barnstable made a pair of free throws with :06 remaining and UWL could not get a potential game-tying shot off in the final :06.

The contest featured 10 ties and 10 lead changes. 

UWL shot 49.1% from the field, including 33.3% (four-of-12) from three-point range, and 84.6% (11-of-13) at the free throw line. Westra led the Eagles with a career-high 27 points, going 10-of-16 from the field and seven-of-nine at the line. He also had a team-high nine rebounds. Fuhrmann finished with 15 points and seven rebounds while JJ Paider had eight points and seven rebounds. 

UW-Whitewater shot 47.2% from the field Wednesday, including 21.4% (three-of-14) from three-point range. The Warhawks shot 80.8% (21-of-26) at the line. Barnstable led four players in double figures with 25 points. He was 12-of-12 at the line. Chislom finished with 18 points while Barker added 14 and Capstran 11. Fisher had a team-leading seven rebounds.  

UWL returns to action Wednesday, February 1 at UW-Platteville at 7 p.m.