RIVER FALLS, Wis. — The UW-River Falls men's basketball team won its non-conference home matchup against Saint Mary's, 84-56, on Saturday, Nov. 23 in Page Arena.
The win is the second straight for the Falcons, who improved to 2-2 on the season. The victory margin in tonight's victory is the largest by the UWRF men's basketball team since Dec. 29, 2023, when the Falcons beat Northland 72-38.
Despite Saint Mary's scoring the first basket of the game, UWRF rattled off an immediate 10-0 run that put the Falcons in control early — the opening exchange of baskets was the only lead change of the contest, as UWRF went on to lead by 39 later in the game.
In the first half, UWRF shot 19-31 (61.29%) from the field and 4-10 (40%) from three-point range. By the 10-minute mark of the first half, UWRF led 27-14, and would lead by as much as 20 points in the first half— the Falcons went into halftime leading 42-23, after holding Saint Mary's to 9-27 (33%) from the field in the opening 20 minutes.
The Falcons saw a balanced scoring effort in the second half, as UWRF led by as much as 39 points and managed to play 16 players in the win. UWRF kept up its offensive efficiency, shooting 16-29 (55.2%) from the field in the second frame. Saint Mary's never trimmed the lead to anything less than 17 points, as UWRF ran away with an 84-56 victory.
As a team, UWRF dominated in the paint — the Falcons held a 52-32 advantage in points in the paint and won the team rebounding battle 45-22. UWRF leaned on its bench for 37 points, while capitalizing off 16 points off turnovers. The Falcons finished 35-60 (58.3%) from the field as a team.
Micah Thompson and Jack Leifker led UWRF with 16 points each — the duo combined to go 16-19 from the field, as the Falcons leaned into their post offense in tonight's win. Zac Johnson added 14 points off 6-9 shooting, while grabbing a team-high six rebounds and dishing out six assists.
Up next, UWRF will play its second straight game at Page Arena. The Falcons are set to host Concordia College (MN) at 7 p.m. on Nov. 26, as part of a double header with the women's basketball team.
