Salt Lake City - The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawk Wheelchair Basketball Team traveled to Salt Lake City this past weekend to compete in the Western Regional of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA) and came away with their first ever trip to the Final Four.

The Warhawks, ranked fifth nationally, faced Pasadena on Saturday, March 13. Led by Senior Joey Johnson's 28 points and Jeff Dennis' 18 points, the Warhawks crushed number ten ranked Pasadena, 75-53. Dave Radbel and Ryan Hauser contributed to Warhawk scoring with 11 and 10 points respectively. Eric Barber and Mel Juette added four each. The Warhawks were never threatened. A big early lead allowed first year Head Coach Tracy Chynoweth to use all his players. This strategy helped keep the Warhawks fresh for the championship game on Sunday.

The Warhawks were matched against the top seed, the Golden State Warriors in the Regional Championship game on Sunday, March 14. The Warriors, ranked fourth nationally, were led by Trooper Johnson, a member of the US National Wheelchair Basketball Team which won the world championship last October in Sydney, Australia. Based on his performance in the World Championships, Mr. Johnson was selected to the first team, all tournament team. But, on Sunday, he was no match for the Warhawks who held him to 12 points in the game, including three in the crucial second half.

The Warhawks found themselves on the short end of the score at halftime, 27-23. However, the Warhawks stepped it up in the second half limiting the Warriors to 25 points while going on a 44 point scoring binge to win going away, 67-52.

Senior Center Joey Johnson again led the Warhawks in scoring with 22 points. Forward Ryan Hauser added 17 and Guard Eric Barber contributed 12 points. All the starters for the Warhawks scored with Mel Juette and Jeff Dennis adding 6 points each and Freshman Dave Radbel had four points.

Joe Johnson was selected as the Regional's Most Valuable Player. This was the only tournament recognition given out.

The Warhawks will travel to the University of Illinois-Chicago on March 26-27 to compete in the NWBA's Final Four. Results of the other Regionals and Final Four pairings were not available at press time.