EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – The UW-River Falls men's basketball team fell 76-69 at UW-Eau Claire Wednesday evening.
The Falcons, who led 33-30 at halftime, were outscored 46-36 by the Blugolds in the second half to suffer the loss. UWEC forced 19 Falcon turnovers, turning those into 28 points.
In the first half, UWRF shot 6-of-11 from beyond the arc, including a trio from
Marshall Holland. The Falcons led for the majority of the first 20 minutes, earning a 12-point advantage four and a half minutes in with a
Tyler Curvey three-pointer. UWRF led by as many as 13 twice before the home team rallied to trim the Falcon lead to 31-30 with just over four minutes left.
UWEC opened the second half on an 11-6 run to take its first lead since early in the game and didn't look back, leading for the rest of regulation. The Blugolds shot over 50 percent from the field in teh second half and held UWRF to under 40 percent.
Rodrick Payne finished with a team-high 25 points, shooting 8-of-17 from the field and 9-of-10 at the free throw line. Payne and Holland shared the team lead in rebounds with eight each.
The Falcons (9-11, 3-6 WIAC) have a bye this Saturday before returning to action next Wednesday, Feb. 1 to host UW-Stout.
