RIVER FALLS, Wis. (uwrfsports.com) - The Falcons came back from a 14-point deficit at halftime to get within four points of UW-Whitewater with two minutes remaining, but David Sachs made six of his eight free throws in the final minute to hand UW-River Falls a 77-74 loss in their season finale. The Warhawks clinched the final seed in the WIAC tournament with the win, ending UWRF's season at 11-14 overall with a 4-10 record in conference. This will be the first year they haven't qualified for the conference tournament since 2014, and also the first time they won't appear in the championship game since 2015.

The Warhawks started the game off strong, going up 10-4 in three minutes after two dunks from Riley Jensen. Matt Keller and Jack Stensgard both knocked down 3-pointers to cut into UW-Whitewater's lead, with Stensgard's 3-pointer giving the Falcons their first lead at 19-17. It would be short-lived as the Warhawks took it back only 19 seconds later on a 3-pointer from Derek Rongstad, and the Falcons didn't lead the rest of the game. Ross Ingersoll made two free throws and a layup to cut the lead to 30-27, but the Warhawks finished the half on a 16-5 run in the final six minutes. Whitewater shot over 61 percent from the field in the first half, but UWRF managed to stay within striking distance despite shooting only 35 percent.

The Falcons scored nine points within the first three minutes of the second half to trim their deficit to 48-41 after a jumper from Julian Jackson. UWRF was held scoreless over the next three minutes, but Jackson went on a 7-0 run of his own to make it 53-48 in favor of Whitewater. Alex Ohde tied the game up at 58-58 after a pair of free throws, but a 12-2 run was capped off by a layup from Andre Brown to make it a 10-point game with just over four minutes remaining.

Austin Heidecker had eight of his team-high 18 points in the final four minutes, cutting the lead to within four points with two minutes remaining. Ingersoll made it a one-possession game after knocking a 3-pointer down with 18 seconds remaining, and Heidecker made his final basket to cut it to two points with four seconds to go. Sachs missed his second free throw and presented the Falcons with a chance, but Stensgard's shot from half court was off the mark, and the Warhawks defeated UWRF for the second time this year. The Falcons were 52 percent from the field in the second half and made an incredible 19 of their 22 free throws throughout the game.

Heidecker and Jackson each had 18 points, while Stensgard and Ingersoll each finished in double figures with 12 points apiece. Stensgard had a career-high seven assists in 37 minutes of action, and Heidecker finished with eight rebounds to lead the WIAC with over 10 rebounds per game this season. Jackson was the team's leader in points this season with 15.6 per game, and Keller led the team by shooting 84 percent from the free throw line. The Falcons will lose Heidecker, Clay Seifert and Logan Halvorson to graduation this year.