RIVER FALLS, Wis. (uwrfsports.com) - The Falcons trailed by as much as 11 points in the second half before bringing it within one point in the final minute of their Wednesday night battle with UW-La Crosse. However, UW-River Falls wasn't able to re-take the lead after a three-pointer from
Jack Stensgard missed in the closing seconds as the Eagles held on for a 66-65 win.
UWRF shot over 50 percent from the floor, significantly higher than the 41 percent the Eagles shot overall. The Falcons started the game with a 9-2 lead with 16:46 remaining after shots from four different Falcons went in. The team didn't make another shot for four minutes until
Nathan Macho, Jr. ended a 7-0 run with a jumper in the lane. Brendon Manning's layup with five minutes remaining in the first half gave the Eagles the lead, and it grew to six points after a pair of free throws from Sam Burkart. Nacho, Jr. and
Julian Jackson knocked down shots in the final minute of the half to keep it close at 27-29 in favor of the Eagles at halftime.
Matt Keller's three-pointer gave the Falcons back the lead a minute into the half, and a layup from Jackson made it 35-31 in favor of UWRF. This sparked a 15-0 run from the Eagles, eight of which came consecutively from Ben Meinholz. The Eagles still led by double digits with 12 minutes remaining after a pair of free throws from Manning made it 51-40. Manning led all scorers with 23 points and 12 rebounds on Wednesday.
The Falcons slowly whittled down the lead, cutting it to three points by the seven-minute mark after a three-pointer from
Noah Hanson. The lead stayed between four and six points for almost the rest of the game, and La Crosse was in command with a six-point lead with two minutes remaining. However, Stensgard and Keller made back-to-back shots to make it a one-point game in the final minute of regulation.
Keller had 14 points and made two of the team's five three-pointers, and
Austin Heidecker had 14 points and six rebounds. The Falcons are now 8-10 overall and 1-6 in conference. They will next host UW-Oshkosh at Page Arena on Saturday at 5 p.m.
