St. Paul, Minn. (uwrfsports.com) – Facing the defending NCAA Division III National Champions, the UW-River Falls men' basketball team used a huge first half to defeat the 10^th ranked Tommies of St. Thomas by a score of 74-65 in their regular season opener on the road.

THE RUNDOWN
Final Score: UW-River Falls: 74, St. Thomas: 65
Location: St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota  
Record: UWRF: 1-0, St. Thomas 0-1
 
WHAT HAPPENED

• Transfer Alex Herink converted the Falcons first shot of the season two minutes into the game, and made the score 2-2.
• UW-River Falls would storm out of the gate and begin the game on a 12-5 run using two three point shots to take the early lead.
• UWRF would use another huge run in the first half to take a commanding lead. The 13-2 run put the Falcons up 25-10 with 10:29 to go in the first half. Devin Buckley would lead the UWRF run with two three pointers.
• Buckley would make his first five three point shots in the first half to help the Falcons take control of the first half. UWRF would score the last five points in the first half to take a 23 point lead into the locker room.
• In the first half the Falcons were led by Buckley with 21 points on 7-10 shooting from the floor. He was 6-7 from beyond the arc and added two assists to his impressive opening half of the 2016 season. Garret Pearson would add five points in the first half. Grant Erickson, Herink, Clay Seifert, and Brennan Witt would all add four points in the first half.
• The defending national champions would not go away quietly, and in the second half, the Tommies responded. After the Falcons opening bucket, extending the lead to 25, the Tommies would rip off a 15-4 run to pull within 12 points of the Falcons with 16:05 to go in the game.
• After the Tommies big run, the Falcons would keep their distance for the next six minutes. The Tommies would finally pull within single digits with 8:06 to go in the game on a three point shot by Grant Shaeffer.
• The Falcons would miss their next shot and St. Thomas would cap off their 8-0 run with another huge three pointer to cut the lead to just five points with 7:20 to go.  
• Witt would make back-to-back layups for UWRF to keep the Tommies at bay with 5:52 to go in the game. Up by seven points, Buckley would convert a layup to give the Falcons a nine point lead with 5:38 to go.
• The Falcons remaining nine points would all come from the free throw line. The Falcons last field goal came within 5:38 to go in the game.
• St. Thomas would continue to battle back and pulled within five points with 2:55 to go in the game. After a missed three, Witt came up with a huge steal for UWRF holding off St. Thomas once again. After a Falcon turnover, the Falcons forced yet another turnover and wasted away another 30 seconds before Buckley sank two free throws to give the Falcons a seven point lead with 36 seconds to go.
• Buckley would sink two more free throws to seal the Falcon victory over the tenth ranked Tommies and move to 1-0.

 
IN-DEPTH LOOK

• Buckley opened the regular season with a huge performance with a total of 29 points on 8-13 shooting and 6-8 from downtown. He shot 7-7 from the three point line and had two assists and two rebounds.
• Buckley's 29 points is the most in a Falcon season opener since November 17^th, 2001 when Rich Melzer scored 33 points against Bethel in a 97-94 loss.
• Witt scored 10 points for UWRF off the bench on 4-8 shooting and added a team high 11 rebounds to help the Falcons out rebound the Tommies 38-33.
• Grant Erickson scored 10 points on 5-9 shooting and handed out three assists and collected six rebounds.
• Pearson scored nine points, Herink scored six points, and Booker Coplin scored two to round out the Falcons starting five.
• UW-River Falls shot 27-54 (50 percent) from the floor in the game and 8-18 (44.4 percent) from downtown. UWRF took care of business at the free throw line going 12-13 (92.3 percent).
• UWRF won the points in the paint in the game with 30 points to the Tommies 26.
• The Falcons led the game from the 18:22 mark of the first half after the Tommies had a 2-0 lead on the first score of the game.

 
THE OPPOSITION

• The Tommies leading scorer came from their bench. Michael Hannon scored 18 points on 7-15 shooting and 4-9 from downtown.
• Jordan Burich scored 14 points from the center position for St. Thomas. He shot 7-10 from the floor in 27 minutes of action.
• Ryan Boll scored 10 for St. Thomas on 4-9 from the floor. He added a team high seven rebounds and three steals as well.
• St. Thomas shot 26-67 (38.8 percent) from the floor and 8-23 (34.8 percent) from the three point line.
• UST had 17 assists on the night and just seven turnovers. The Tommies bench outscored the Falcons bench 25-18.

 
LOOKING AHEAD
UW-River Falls will now take their talents to UW-Stout for the UW-Stout Classic. They play Robert Morris College (Ill.) on November 18^th at 5 p.m. Hope College will play UWRF on November 19^th at 1 p.m.