It was a nip and tuck game from start to finish but it was the UW-River Falls men's basketball team who outlasted UW-Whitewhite, advancing to the WIAC tournament semifinals with an 81-76 victory.
The Falcons trailed for the first 10 minutes of the game until Jake Reeck hit a three-point shot to give UW-RF a 19 - 17 lead. Moments later, Austin Werdin added a three of his own to give the Falcons a four-point lead. The Warhawks kept things close with a shot from Derek Gray in transition, and the teams continued to exchange baskets. UW-RF would continue to manage a narrow lead until the Warhawks took it over with a made basket by Trevon Chislom with 1:33 left to go in the first half. The Warhawks would add a few more points in the waning seconds and lead 45-42 heading into the break.
Play in the second half took on a similar look as the first half with both teams going back and forth offensively. The momentum for the Falcons really began within the last 10 minutes of the second half, started from a dunk by Dylan Parker to tie it up 59 - 59. After a stop on the other end, Alex Ohde made a contested layup to grab the lead at 61 - 59.
After taking a timeout to stop the run, the Warhawks got a three-pointer from Gage Malensek to regain the lead. Not to be outdone, Ohde responded with another two points on the other side. A minute later, Regan Merritt drilled a three, then hit a pull up jumped to put the Falcons up six with just under seven minutes left to play.
The Warhawks continued to answer however, and things were all tied up at 68-68 with 5:30 left to go in the second half. After each team found the bottom of the net a few times and with the clock under three minutes, Malensek scored again for UW-W, but it was answered by Ohde the next possession to put the Falcons up one. After a stop and three-pointer by Reeck, the Warhawks scored again to get within one, 73-72.
Looking no further than the steady senior Ohde, the 6'7 forward scored again for the Falcons, pushing the lead back up to three. After yet another score from UW-W, Ohde found the basket again to put the Falcons up 77-74 with 1:20 to go.
With under a minute left to play, Ohde would continue to add pressure by getting a steal and then getting fouled. At the line for the one-and-one bonus, Ohde missed the front end, but Bryce Phillips corralled the rebounded and got the ball back to Ohde for more free throws. This time he managed to sink both his attempts and after two more a few seconds late, the game was on ice with the Falcons victorious 81-76.
Ohde finished the night with 22 points to lead all scorers. Reech had 16 points while Werdin and Ross Ingersoll had 12 and 11, respectively. As a team, the Falcons shot 53.7% from the field, including going 9-for-19 from three.
The Falcons will now have a day to prepare before heading to UW-Platteville to take on the #1 team in the East. Tip off on March 3 is set for 7pm.
