RIVER FALLS, Wis. – The UW-River Falls men's basketball team defeated Northland College 81-60 in its first of two games during the Radisson Holiday Classic at Page Arena.
The Falcons, now 5-7 overall, face St. Scholastica tomorrow at 5 p.m.
UWRF led 42-18 in the paint and totaled 40 rebounds compared to the Lumberjacks' 26. The Falcons shot .525 from the field (31-of-59), their best percentage since Nov. 22. UWRF also shot a season-best 13-of-16 at the free throw line.
Rodrick Payne led UWRF with 25 points while
Marshall Holland had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Logan Jedwabny had 13 points and
Jacob Butler added six rebounds off the bench, all in the second half.
A pair of Holland free throws gave UWRF a 10-point lead seven minutes into regulation, its largest lead of the first half. Northland rallied to trim the Falcon lead to two just just over a minute left, and trailed 38-36 at the break.
In the second half, the Falcons limited the Lumberjacks to 31 percent shooting and didn't surrender their lead. A Jedwabny triple gave UWRF a 49-38 lead at the 14:14 minute mark, and the home team led by double digits for the remainder of the contest.
