Box Score

RIVER FALLS, Wis. (uwrfsports.com) - In stunning fashion the UW- River Falls men's basketball team won their opening WIAC game against UW- Oshkosh 76-75 with a three point shot by River Falls native Jack Herum with just seconds to go.

In the first half, it was a back and forth game as the teams exchanged buckets for the first five minutes. The Falcons first half lead was as much as four before the Titans of Oshkosh took a seven point lead with 3:06 to go in the first half.

The Titans were led by Charlie Noone with 13 points in the first half with three of his shots coming from downtown. The Falcons were led by senior forward Jon Christensen with seven points and freshman guard Logan Halvorson with five points.

UW- Oshkosh took a 37-31 lead into the locker room after the halftime buzzer rang. The Titans shot 5-12 from the three point line.

The second half proved to be even more competitive than the first half with junior guard Grant Erickson, who in his first start since the exhibition game against UW- Madison, lead the Falcons on the defensive end with numerous steals that lead to the Falcons scoring the first six points of the second half and tie the game 37-37 with 17:04 to go in the game.

For the next seven minutes neither team led by more than four points. The Titans stretched the lead to six points before Christensen scored eight straight points including two three point shots to tie the game 56-56 with 7:53 to go.

Down the stretch, the Falcons obtained their largest lead of the game up 65-60 after a corner three point shot by Christensen before Oshkosh made back to back three pointers to take the lead right back 66-65 with 54 seconds to go.

After a double-bonus free throw attempt, the Falcons trailed by two points when junior forward Garret Pearson was fouled with seven seconds to go and sank both free throws to send the game to overtime.

In overtime, the Falcons scored the opening bucket with 3:35 in the overtime period before the Titans were fouled and Ben Boots made both his free throws to tie the game 71-71 with 1:57 to go. Christensen scored again for the Falcons and once again Boots hit two more free throws. After a turnover by the Falcons, Boots shot two more free throws to get the lead 75-53 with 22 seconds to go.

On the offensive end, the Falcons attempted to get the ball to Christensen, but were unable and Herum heaved up a three point shot that fell through and gave the Falcons their second home win of the season after a miss at the buzzer by UW- Oshkosh.

Leading scorer for the Falcons was Christensen with 31 points on 11-15 shooting and four three point shots and adding nine rebounds. Pearson scored 14 points and snagged seven rebounds. Herum finished with nine points. Erickson in his first game back from injury scored seven points and had four rebounds and two steals.

Shooting on the night the Falcons were 25-59 (42.4 percent) and made six three point shots on 19 attempts. UWRF also shot 20-23 (87 percent) from the free throw line.

Next up for UWRF will be at home against UW- Stout on January 9 at 5 p.m. Last year the Falcons swept the Blue Devils in the season series. The Falcons lead the series all-time 109-84 and will be looking to go 2-0 in the WIAC for the second straight year.