LINCOLN, Neb. – The UW-River Falls men's basketball team wrapped up play at the Nebraska Wesleyan University Snyder Classic on Saturday afternoon with an 83-58 win over Howard Payne University.
The Falcons, now 5-2 overall, shot 29-of-66 from the field and 11-of-25 from three-point range. UWRF also led 32-17 in bench points and outrebounded the Yellowjackets 52-38.
The win also marked head coach
Jeff Berkhof's 200th career win in his 16th season at the helm. He follows only his predecessor, Rick Bowen, in coaching victories at UW-River Falls.
Noah Hanson led the Falcons with 18 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two blocks, shooting 5-11 from the field and 4-10 from long-range.
UWRF and HPU exchanged leads six times throughout the first 20 minutes.
Down 19-13 near the midway point of the first half, the Falcons went on a 12-0 run, capped off by a
Jake Reeck triple to give UWRF its largest lead of the half at 25-19 with just over five minutes left in the half. HPU then closed out the half on a 14-7 run to take a 33-32 lead into halftime.
The Falcons improved their shooting in the second half, converting 50 percent of their field goal attempts including 7-13 from three-point range and 10-12 at the free throw line.
UWRF and HPU went back-and-forth during the first 10 minutes of the second half before the Falcons began to run away. A triple from Hanson with 10:14 left in regulation gave UWRF a 54-51 lead and the Falcons led for the remainder of the game.
Another Hanson three-pointer extended the Falcons lead into double-digits with just under seven minutes remaining and a triple from
Dylan Parker minutes later put UWRF up by a margin of 20 at 76-56, plenty of room for the Falcons to coast to victory.
Rodrick Payne averaged 14.5 points per game off 12-19 shooting over the weekend, and was awarded a spot on the Snyder Classic All-Tournament Team.
UW-River Falls opens its Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) schedule next week, traveling to UW-Stout on Wednesday, Dec. 1.
