Box Score The UWRF men's basketball team downed the University of Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets, 92-73, thanks to
Ollie White's 25 points on Wednesday evening at the Karges Center.
White's 25 points tied a career high (set in January of 2012); he also grabbed nine rebounds and hit 9 of 14 field goals. He was backed up by senior forward
Ben Gresmer, who scored 18 points. White and Gresmer were joined in double digits by freshman guard
Grant Erickson and freshman guard
Joe Deppe, who each scored 11.
Gresmer finished the evening with six rebounds, two blocks and four assists (a season high). Erickson went 4-7 from the field, adding three rebounds and five assists. Deppe, who was the game's unsung hero, went 3 for 3 from downtown and 4-5 overall; his 11 points were a career high.
The Falcons held a 49-34 halftime lead over the Yellowjackets after shooting 50 percent from the field. White scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds in the first half alone, while Gresmer contributed 11 points, going 3-5 from 3-point land. Two early Gresmer 3-pointers and 8 White points in the first eight minutes led to an eventual game-changing run.
Despite trailing by 15 at half, Yellowjackets senior guard Jarrod Peterson scored 20 points and nabbed five rebounds in the first frame.
The game was tied 23-23 with 8:26 left in the first before the Falcons went on a 26-11 run to end the half. The three ball helped push the lead to 15; Deppe, senior guard
Justin Behnke and senior forward
David Berthene all hit from downtown to stretch the UWRF lead. The Falcons only turned the ball over one time in the first half, and outrebounded the Yellowjackets 22-18.
The second half was more competitive on the scoreboard but the damage was already done. The Falcons outscored UW-Superior 43-39 in the second half. The Falcons finished the evening at 47.8 percent from the field, while the Yellowjackets upped their halftime percentage to 40.9.
Amazingly, the Falcons only turned the ball over two times in the entire ballgame. Superior won the overall rebound count 41-40; both teams had 13 offensive rebounds.
The Yellowjackets cut into the Falcon lead thanks to an early 13-5 run capped by a Bronson Byrne 3-point play, but UWRF followed it with a run of their own. Two second half Deppe three's stretched the Falcons' lead when they need it the most. One of his three's capped off a 10-0 UWRF run midway through the second half. The Falcon lead hit 19 after a nifty Gresmer layup with 6:48 left in the contest, sealing the Yellowjackets' fate.
Falcons sophomore center
Connor Goodwin contributed six rebounds (four offensive) and five points off the bench. Berthene, meanwhile, finished with seven points and three assists. Senior forward
Zach Smith grabbed four rebounds and made two baskets in nine minutes.
UW-Superior's Peterson finished with 33 points, hitting 7 of 10 three's, while adding eight rebounds. Byrne scored 13 points and senior forward Aaron Corry grabbed 10 rebounds and scored eight.
The Falcons scored nine more points from the charity stripe, hitting 20 of 28 free throws. They also ended the evening plus-6 in the turnover category.
UWRF's 90 points was their second highest point total of the season; they scored 99 points on Nov. 16 against Blackburn College in non-conference play.
The Falcons improved to 7-10 overall, 2-6 in WIAC play, 2-4 at home and snapped their four-game losing streak. They are now 109-83 all-time against UW-Superior. The Yellowjackets fell to 5-12 overall and 2-6 in WIAC play.
The Falcons take on the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks (14-3) Saturday evening at the Karges Center; the tip is at 7 p.m.
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