RIVER FALLS, Wis. – The UW-River Falls men's basketball team defeated North Central University 79-68 Saturday evening in its second of two games on the weekend hosting the Radisson Holiday Classic at Page Arena.
UWRF's 79 points was a season-high total, paced by a season-high 30 made field goals as the Falcons shot just over 40 percent from the field and 8-of-24 from beyond the arc.
Jack Leifker and
Noah Hanson led the way, with Leifker scoring a career-high 25 points off 11-of-17 shooting and 23 points from Hanson, including a 5-of-7 mark from three-point range.
Zac Johnson added 13 points along with a team-high nine rebounds and four assists, both season-highs.
The Falcons held the lead for over 16 minutes in the first half while shooting 16-of-37 from the field with four made three-pointers, led by a 15-point effort from Leifker to lead UWRF to a 38-27 halftime lead.
North Central pushed back in the second half, stringing together a 13-0 run to trim the UWRF lead to five at 53-48 at the 12-minute mark, but the Falcons answered with a 14-0 run capped up by a Leifker layup to give the home team a 67-48 lead with just under nine minutes left in regulation which was enough cushion to secure the win.
The Falcons led 50-33 on the glass and scored 21 second-chance points.
UWRF wraps up nonconference play with a 6-5 overall record and opens its WIAC schedule next Wednesday, Jan. 3, hosting UW-La Crosse.
