River Falls, Wis. (uwrfsports.com) – The No. 7 ranked UW-River Falls men's basketball team clinched the outright WIAC crown in a 68-63 win over No. 18 UW-Whitewater in the final regular season home game for the men's basketball team.

THE RUNDOWN
Final Score: UW-River Falls: 68, UW-Whitewater 63
Location: Karges Center, River Falls, Wisconsin
Record: UWRF: 21-2 (11-1 WIAC), UW-Whitewater 18-4 (8-4 WIAC)
 
WHAT HAPPENED

• A three pointer at 9:09 by Austin Moldenhauer, paired with free throws by senior Grant Erickson, put the Falcons up for good with 8:16 to go in the game, the Falcons never led by more than six the rest of the way, but toughed out win down the stretch.
• The first nine points for UWRF came on three pointers, with the first two coming from Erickson. Neither team led by more than four points in the first 10 minutes of the contest.
• UWRF took the first substantial lead at 5:52 with a layup by senior Garret Pearson which made the score 26-20. Clay Seifert followed that up with a bucket of his own to give UWRF an eight point lead, their largest of the game.
• UW-River Falls took a six point lead into the break, Pearson led the way with 10 points at the break on 4-7 from the floor. He also had six rebounds in the first half.
• Whitewater would quickly cut the lead to just two points early in the second half. Seifert then responded with a long distance three pointer to give the Falcons the two possession lead right back.
• UW-Whitewater scored 10 of the next 11 points to take a four point lead of their own, putting pressure on the host Falcons on Senior Night.
• The Warhawks held a lead or tie for the next five minutes, but the Moldenhauer three and free throws put momentum, as well as the lead, back on the Falcons side with 8:16 to go.
• The game came to a tie at the 6:49 mark of the second half at 52, Brennan Witt scooped home a reverse layup to cap off a mini 8-2 run to bring the lead up to six points with 2:38 to go in the game.
• Erickson put his body on the line at 40 second remaining and took an offensive foul by a Warhawk driver, which gave the Falcons the ball, up by four points.
• The Falcons hit their free throws in the final moments, giving the Falcons their first WIAC regular season champion since 2004.

 
IN-DEPTH LOOK

• On Senior Night, it was the junior, Alex Herink, who led the Falcons in scoring. He finished with 13 points on 4-9 shooting, including 5-8 from the free throw line. He added six rebounds, and five assists.
• Pearson and Erickson scored 12 points and 10 points on the night they were honored as seniors. Pearson added a career-high 15 rebounds on the night. Erickson registered seven assists and five rebounds.
• Seifert, Witt, and Devin Buckley each had eight points for the Falcons.
• From the floor UWRF was 23-54 (42.6 percent) and made seven shots from beyond the arc. UWRF was efficient from the charity stripe going 15-22 (68.2 percent).  

THE OPPOSITION

• Scotty Tyler led the Warhawk offensive attack with 16 points on 7-14 shooting. He highlighted the game early in the second half with a dunk on a breakaway opportunity.
• Derek Rongstad scored 15 points and polished off a double-double with 10 rebounds. Off the bench Andre Brown shot 5-10 and scored 12 points with seven assists.
• UW-Whitewater finished up the game 25-64 (39.1 percent) from the floor, with seven of their field goals from downtown. The Warhawks shot just 10 free throws, and converted six of them.  

 
LOOKING AHEAD
With the first-seed in the WIAC conference tournament wrapped up, the Falcons will take to the road for their final two games of the regular season. UW-Eau Claire will play host to the Falcons on February 15 at 7 p.m.