WHITEWATER, Wis. – The No. 6 seeded UW-River Falls men's basketball team fell 72-49 at No. 4 seed UW-Whitewater Tuesday evening, knocking the Falcons out of the WIAC Tournament.
The Falcons finish the 2021-22 season with a 14-10 overall record with the WIAC Tournament Second Round loss.
Despite a 39-37 edge over the Warhawks in rebounds, the home team limited UWRF to under 40 percent shooting from the field. The Falcons also couldn't find a shooting stride beyond the arc with a 2-of-14 shooting output from long-range and a 7-of-15 ledger at the free throw line.
UWRF was without its leading scorer, senior guard
Noah Hanson, who left the game early due to injury.
Rodrick Payne led the Falcons with 20 points, and was just one rebound shy of a double-double with nine rebounds. He also blocked three shots.
A pair of early Falcon field goals from Payne put UWRF up 4-0, and a dunk from the rookie center tied the game at 10-10 six minutes into the contest. Not long after, Hanson left the game due to injury and the Falcons struggled for the rest of the night, allowing the Warhawks to take a double-digit lead minutes later.
Jake Reeck closed out the first half with a triple to cut the UWW lead to 35-24 at the break, but that was the closest the Falcons would get, as the home team further extended its lead in the second half and cruised to victory.
