WHITEWATER, Wis. -- The Lawrence University men's basketball team dropped a 74-50 nonconference decision to No. 7 UW-Whitewater on Wednesday at Kachel Gymnasium.
    Whitewater pulled away over the final nine minutes of the first half, and that was the difference. The Warhawks built a 26-point lead at the half but were unable to expand that in the second half. Lawrence, in a stretch of playing three ranked opponents in four games, outscored Whitewater 33-31 after the break.
    Rookie guard Carson Nichols, who has missed multiple games due to injury, led Lawrence with 12 points. Nichols went 6-for-8 from the floor and was the only Lawrence player to score in double figures.
    Jake Fisher and Nicholas Gouriotis added seven points apiece, and Casey Schoenecker pulled down a team-best six rebounds for the Vikings (0-10).
    Lawrence trailed by just four at 18-14, but Whitewater (7-1) went on a 25-3 run to finish the half for a 43-17 at the break.
    Over the opening eight minutes of the second half, Lawrence was able to eat into the Whitewater advantage. The Vikings went on an 18-12 run, capped by Thomas Dimitrios' three-point play, to cut the lead to 55-36 with 12:17 remaining. 
    Lawrence got as close as 18 at 57-39 on a Matthew Kaznikov 3-pointer, and Whitewater never led by more than the final margin the rest of the way.
    Trevon Chislom led Whitewater with 21 points.