Menomonie, Wis. (uwrfsports.com) – Led by Alex Herink's season-high 34 points, the UW-River Falls men's basketball team picked up their second win of the season in the first day of the UW-Stout Tip-Off Classic 103-98 over Robert Morris College (Ill.).

THE RUNDOWN
Final Score: UW-River Falls: 103, Robert Morris 98
Location: Dewey Mintz Court in Johnson Fieldhouse, Menomonie, Wisconsin
Record: UWRF: 2-0, Robert Morris 1-1
 
WHAT HAPPENED

• UWRF and Robert Morris would exchange buckets early on in the game. Neither team had more than a one point advantage in the first five minutes. Senior Garret Pearson would give the Falcons their first two possession lead 16-12 with 14:44 to go in the first half.
• UW-River Falls would use a quick 7-0 run to take 25-18 with 13:45 to go in the first half led by a couple of layups by Brennan Witt off the bench.  
• With their offense rolling, UWRF would use a 10-1 run to take a double-digit lead with 7:55 with four points coming from the free throw line, where UWRF dominated all night.
• Continuing the aggressive trend, the Falcons would take that lead into the locker room with a 53-43 advantage. The Falcons attempted 21 free throws in the first half alone, and converted 17 of those to hold the lead they grew in the middle of the first half.
• Pearson led the Falcons in the first half with 14 total points. He was 9-10 from the free throw line and snagged five rebounds and had two assists. Herink would have a solid start going 5-6 from the floor including making both of his attempts from the three point line. Brennan Witt added six points off the bench.
• The Falcons would not surrender their lead in the second half, and brought their lead to as much as 15 points at 16:28 remaining in the game.
• Herink would dominate in the second half, including the first seven points for UWRF in the second half and 12 of the first 15 points for the Falcons. Herink would score 22 points in the second half alone of the Falcons 50 points. He was 8-12 from the floor in the half.
• Robert Morris would make a run late in the second half, using a 7-0 run they would come within four points with 7:03 to go in the game. The Falcons would keep off Robert Morris and get the lead back to eight points with Herink leading the charge.
• Robert Morris came within one possession with 4:01 and within two points with just 2:56 to go in the game. Herink and Pearson again stepped up for the Falcons on the offensive and defensive end. Herink would sink a jumper, then grab a rebound on the defensive end. Pearson put UWRF up six with a tipin with 1:22 to go.
• With the game in the balance, Robert Morris would use an and-one and a three pointer to come within two points once again with 59 seconds to go. The Falcons would sink their free throws at the end of the game to ice the game including four free throws from senior Grant Erickson.

 
IN-DEPTH LOOK

• Herink's 34 point performance was his highest in his young Falcon career. Shooting 13-18 from the floor and 4-5 from the three point line, Herink added two blocks to boot and five rebounds.
• After the big first half, Pearson settled with a 19 point performance, including 10-12 from the free throw line and came down with nine total rebounds.
• Erickson scored 11 points on the night, including 9-11 from the free throw line. He had four assists in the game and three rebounds.
• Off of his 29 point season opening performance, Devin Buckley scored nine points on 7-8 shooting from the free throw line and added an assist and two rebounds. Witt had nine points off the bench as well on 3-5 shooting.
• UWRF would shoot a total of 46 free throws in the contest and convert 38 of them. The 46 attempted free throws is the most since November 17, 2006 when the Falcons attempted 51 free throws against Wiliam Penn. University.
• UW-River Falls would win the rebound battle in the contest 40-34, out of their 40 boards, the Falcons grabbed 14 offensive rebounds in the game.
• Shooting 29-58 (50 percent) from the floor, the Falcons sank seven threes on 16 attempts.
• UW-River Falls took the lead for good at 16:43 in the first half and never trailed for the remainder of the game.

 
THE OPPOSITION

• Robert Morris was paced offensively by Antonio Levy who scored a team-high 29 points on 9-20 from the floor and 5-13 from beyond the arc.
• Darius Paul scored 15 points on 4-10 shooting and added two blocks. Greg Carter scored 10 points to round out three of the starters in double figures for Robert Morris.
• The team would shoot 34-73 (46.6 percent) from the floor and hit 13 threes to keep them in the ballgame late with a furious comeback.

 
LOOKING AHEAD
The Falcons finish up the UW-Stout Tip-Off Classic tomorrow at 1 p.m. against Hope College who took on UW-Stout in the first day of the tournament. The Falcons then will take on Carthage College on November 22^nd at 7 p.m. UW-River Falls will host their home opener on Viterbo University on November 29^th at 8 p.m.