MENOMONIE, Wis. – The UW-River Falls men's basketball team fell 81-74 during its WIAC opener Wednesday evening at UW-Stout.
 
The Blue Devils had a strong start, going up 20-9 with 12:30 left in the first half.
 
A Marshall Holland triple with just under seven minutes left in the first half trimmed the Stout lead to 29-24, but the home team closed out the half on a 16-9 run to claim a 45-35 advantage heading into the locker room.
 
UWRF improved its shooting numbers in the second half, going 15-of-30 from the floor, but struggled from beyond the arc.
 
The Falcons outscored the Blue Devils in the final 20 minutes, but Stout hung on to at least a six-point lead throughout.
 
Noah Hanson led the Falcons with 17 points off 5-18 shooting from the field, followed by a 14-point effort by Terence Anthony-Larmouth.
 
Holland and Rodrick Payne shared the team-lead with seven rebounds while Bryce Phillips tallied six assists.
 
UW-River Falls (5-3, 0-1 WIAC) continues conference play this Saturday, matching up with No. 4-ranked UW-Platteville in Platteville, Wis.