RIVER FALLS, Wis. — The UW-River Falls Men's Basketball team rounded out the 2024 calendar year at the Radisson Holiday Classic in River Falls with a victory over UW-Superior by a score of 59-51 at Page Arena on Tuesday, Dec. 31.
The win improved UWRF's record on the season to 6-5 and the team's all-time record at the Radisson Holiday Classic to 6-0. The matchup against UW-Superior marked the 200th meeting between the schools in men's basketball, the most frequently played matchup of any team against UW-River Falls.
Both teams played out a contested 9-9 start to the game, before a 10-0 run by the Falcons put UWRF up 19-9 with 6:59 remaining in the first half. Zac Johnson scored 11 points in the first half, as the Falcons extended their lead to 30-19 at the halftime intermission. The Falcons held the Yellowjackets to 25% shooting from the field and forced six turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
In the second half, UW-River Falls built up its lead to as large as 14 points, but UW-Superior managed to trim the lead to single digits with under three minutes to go. The Falcons were highly efficient at the free-throw line in the second half, shooting 13-16 (81.3%), which helped UWRF maintain its advantage late in the game.
In the late stages of the contest, the Yellowjackets missed a jump shot with 15 seconds remaining that would have cut the lead to four points, but the Falcons defended the play well and forced a miss. On the other end, Jacob Butler converted two consecutive free-throws to put the game away 59-51 in favor of the Falcons.
Johnson finished with a game-high 18 points, while Gavin Ralph scored a career-high 11 points. Ralph and Johnson also recorded two blocks and one steal a piece. On the boards, the Falcons saw a collective team effort — Ralph, Butler, Jack Leifker, and Drew Adams led UWRF with five boards each.
As a team, UWRF scored 30 points in the paint and out-rebounded UW-Superior 43-39.
Up next, the Falcons are set to travel to Whitewater, Wis. on Jan. 4. UWRF will open WIAC play with a 5 p.m. tip-off against the Warhawks.
