RIVER FALLS, Wis. - The UW-River Falls men's basketball team earned a 71-62 win over UW-La Crosse Wednesday evening at Page Arena during the 2024 WIAC opener.
The Falcons, now 7-5 overall and 1-0 in the WIAC, head to Platteville to face No. 19-ranked UW-Platteville on Saturday, riding a three-game winning streak.
UWRF tied a season-high with a 0.490 field goal percentage, shooting 25-of-51 from the field. The Falcons also shot well from beyond the arc at a clip of 7-17, led by four made triples from
Noah Hanson, who led the team with 18 points. Hanson also added a career-high five steals.
In the first half, the home team went 5-for-7 from beyond the arc and shot 50 percent from the field, but the Eagles also shot efficiently as the two teams traded eight leads while the visitors took a 36-33 into the intermission. The Falcons and Eagles finished the night with 15 lead changes.
The Falcons outscored the Eagles 38-26 in the second half while limiting UWL to under 25 percent shooting from the field. A
Zac Johnson steal and fastbreak layup capped off a 8-0 run to give UWRF a 63-56 lead with 3:26 remaining, and the Falcons held on to the lead in the final few minutes.
UWRF held a 37-30 edge in rebounds, led by eight from
Jack Leifker, who also added 16 points.Â
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