RIVER FALLS, Wis. (uwrfsports.com) - UW-River Falls held on for an 81-78 win over St. Scholastica on Friday night in the opening game of the Nicolet National Bank Holiday Tournament in De Pere, Wis. Double-doubles from Austin Heidecker and Julian Jackson managed to lead the Falcons to the win after the Saints knocked down eight three-pointers in the second half and cut the lead to a one-possession game on multiple occasions in the final minute of the game.

UWRF only went 3-8 from the free throw line in the final minute as they tried to close out the Saints, and the game was as close as 80-78 after Jarod Wilken made a three-pointer with under five seconds remaining. Jalen Greenlee only made one of this two free throws to give the Saints a chance, but Wilken turned the ball over on the inbounds to help UWRF hold on for the win.

The Falcons fell into an early 5-0 deficit before Heidecker made the team's first basket a few minutes into the game. Jackson knocked down only his third shot from beyond the arc this season to cut St. Scholastica's lead to 10-8, and Greenlee's layup made it a tie game at 10-10. Matt Keller also knocked down a three-pointer against the Saints 2-3 zone to cap a quick 8-0 run to take the lead for the first time.

Two shots from Nathan Macho, Jr. made it a 20-14 lead for UWRF, but the Saints kept it close at 21-20. A fast break dunk from Ross Ingersoll after another three-pointer from Keller built a six-point lead, and UWRF got up by as much as seven before the half after a couple of late baskets from Heidecker.

It was a sloppy first half of basketball with both teams committing 10 turnovers in their first game back from the holiday break. Jack Stensgard knocked down two jump shots in the first half in his debut for the Falcons after recently transferring from Division-I University of South Dakota as UWRF led 40-35 at the break. The Saints outshot the Falcons in the first half by shooting 55 percent from the field, but both teams struggled from beyond the arc and only made three three-pointers each. UWRF dominated the boards by out-rebounding St. Scholastica 20-13, including five more offensive rebounds.

Keller led the Falcons with 12 points on 4-7 shooting, while Heidecker and Jackson only combined for 14 points in the first half. Wilken led the way for the Saints with nine points on 4-8 shooting, and he would finish as their leading scorer with 16 points in the game.

St. Scholastica began the second half on a 13-4 run to take the lead, but Keller responded with another three-pointer off of a Stensgard assist to retake the lead at 50-48. UWRF capped a 18-3 run off with a post move from Heidecker and a three-pointer from Alex Ohde to go up 62-51 for their biggest lead of the night.

Nate Weets had an answer for the Saints, knocking down three-pointers on the next two possessions to make it a 62-57 game. The scoring began to pick up as both teams combined to make five consecutive shots, but UWRF still held a 10-point lead with six minutes remaining. Weets knocked down two more three-pointers to make it 73-71 with over four minutes remaining, and the Falcons never led the game by more than five points the rest of the way.

Heidecker finished the game with 21 points and 12 rebounds on 7-9 shooting for his sixth double-double of the season and third in a row. His average of over 12 rebounds per game currently ranks eighth in all of Division III. Jackson had a big second half to finish with 17 points and a career-high 10 rebounds for his first double-double. Keller finished with 15 points after facing foul trouble in the second half.

The Falcons finished shooting 50 percent from the field and got to the free-throw line 32 times. They also out-rebounded the Saints 43-24, including 13-4 on offensive rebounds. They are now 6-4 on the season and will face St. Norbert in the finals of the holiday tournament at 7 p.m. on Saturday night.