Box Score The Falcons lost a heartbreaker, and the WIAC regular season title, in a physical, hard fought game, 55-53, to Wisconsin-Whitewater at Karges Center on Saturday night.
The student section was raucous and, at times. rowdy, but in the end the home court advantage couldn't help the Falcons salvage a win. Whitewater (22-3, 13-3 WIAC), ranked No. 9 in the latest D3Hoops.com poll, used a clutch jumper by Chris Davis with 2.9 seconds left to pull ahead, and a desperation prayer wasn't answered for No. 25 UWRF (18-7, 12-4 WIAC).
The win gave the Warhawks the WIAC regular season championship and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament; River Falls will be the No. 2 seed.
Shane Manor led the Falcons with a 19 point, five rebound, three steal performance. Manor scored 14 of his points in the second half, as the Falcons furiously came back from a deficit that reached as many as 10 points early in the second half.
Brian Kimble had a solid night as the floor general, dishing out five assists to go with his seven points and four rebounds.
Wade Guerin suffered through a poor shooting night (2-11), but was able to haul in 10 rebounds, including none defensively, keeping the Warhawks from second chance points.
Colin Utke provided a spark off the bench, finishing with nine points, the second leading total for the Falcons.
The story of the game can be broken down into a different narrative for each half. The first half's story was three-pointers by Whitewater. River Falls opened up hot, with an 11-3 run, but Davis knocked down a three-point attempt, from that point on, Whitewater doubled up the Falcons 18-9. The surge included a six-minute drought by the Falcons. Both teams struggled from the field, shooting below 33 percent, but Whitewater knocked down five three pointers in 10 attempts. River Falls meanwhile, converted just 1 of 7 three-point tries. The difference allowed Whitewater to take a 24-20 lead into the locker room.
In the second half, the Warhawks stormed out of the gate, using a 9-3 run to open up a 10-point lead with 14:50 remaining. The Falcons battled back from that point on, chipping away at the Warhawk lead, mainly on the back of Manor and
Ollie White, who scored all six of his points in the second half.
The comeback culminated when White found
Taylor Peterson in the corner. Peterson knocked down a three that tied the game at 51 with 4:22 remaining. After Davis connected on two free throws for UWW, White responded with a layup to tie it at 53. This brings us to the story of the second half… missed Falcon free throws. White missed two free throws with 2:01 remaining, but Manor, who shot 7 of 11 from the field, struggled at the line, hitting only 5 of 10 (he came into the game shooting almost 82 percent). Kimble also missed a freebie (he was shooting for an injured
Taylor Peterson, who would return). All told, the Falcons shot only 8-17 from the line for the game.
Davis, who scored 18 points for the Warhawks, made River Falls pay, with a 15-footer with Falcon defenders draped all over him, the shot fell through the net with 2.9 seconds left, and Whitewater took home the victory.
The Falcons finish the regular season second in the WIAC, owning the tiebreaker over Stevens Point, due to their series sweep. The Falcons will host a game on Friday at the Karges Center against an opponent to be determined. Action will start at 7 p.m.
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