RIVER FALLS, Wis. (uwrfsports.com) - UW-River Falls couldn't sustain their eight-point first half lead and fell 68-59 to UW-Eau Claire on Wednesday night at Don Page Arena. It was the WIAC opener for both teams and only the third game UWRF has played at home this season. Austin Heidecker posted his eighth double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds, but UWRF struggled knocking down shots throughout the second half. The Falcons only finished 5-21 on three-pointers in the game, two of which came in the closing minutes. 

UW-Eau Claire led for a majority of the first half, only leading by as much as four points after Blake Wacholz made a layup for the Blugolds to go up 16-12 with just over nine minutes remaining in the first half. The Falcons responded with an 8-0 run with baskets from four different players to go up 20-16 and force a timeout from UW-Eau Claire. The lead was cut to two points at 24-22 when Ben Widdes made a layup with three and a half minutes remaining. Widdes would go on to lead the Blugolds with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

However, the Falcons held Eau Claire scoreless for the rest of the half and took an eight-point lead into halftime after a fast break dunk from Julian Jackson and a fadeaway jumper as the shot clock expired with only eight seconds remaining. The eight-point lead would end up being the biggest lead UWRF would hold in the game. Heidecker led the team with eight points in the opening half, while Matt Keller also added seven points. The Falcons shot almost 47 percent from the field but didn't attempt a free throw in the first half.

The Blugolds came out of the locker room on a mission by going on an 11-2 run in the opening five minutes to go ahead 33-32. Wilyam Wright had seven points on the run and found a few easy backdoor layups that hurt the Falcons throughout the night. UWRF went almost eight minutes without making a shot in the second half and the Blugolds stretched their lead to 47-37 with eight minutes remaining. A three-pointer from Jack Stensgard cut the deficit to five points at 47-42, but UWRF wouldn't get as close the rest of the game. A three-pointer from Spencer Page with 3:33 remaining pushed the lead to 12 points, and three-pointers from Keller and Clay Seifert in the final minute weren't enough to get back into the game.

UWRF is now 7-5 overall with the loss and 0-1 in conference play. They will next take on no. 12 ranked UW-Stevens Point at 5 p.m. on Saturday at Don Page Arena.