RIVER FALLS, Wis. — The UW-River Falls Men's Basketball team lost at home against UW-Stout by a score of 66-64 on Wednesday, January 8.
The game was tightly contested and included both teams holding double-digit leads, as a buzzer-beating jump shot by the Blue Devils decided the game in dramatic fashion. The loss moved UWRF's record on the season to 6-7 overall and 0-2 in WIAC competition.
In the first half, UW-Stout jumped out to a 7-0 lead out of the gates and led by as much as nine points early on. The Falcons bounced back, turning a 16-9 deficit into a 24-8 run to close out the half and take a 33-24 lead into the break — a 14-2 run by UW-River Falls midway through the frame helped flip the script. The Falcons were led by Jack Leifker with 11 first-half points. UWRF forced 12 turnovers in the first 20 mintues of game action.
In the second half, the Falcons kept the momentum going and pushed their lead to 44-29 with 14:56 to go. Midway through the half, back-to-back three-pointers by the Blue Devils trimmed the Falcons' lead to 48-44. Despite UW-Stout tying the game on several occasions, UW-River Falls never trailed until there was less than one minute remaining, as a three-pointer by Blue Devil Jacob Walczak put the Falcons behind 64-61 with 37 seconds to go.
With eight seconds remaining in regulation, Zac Johnson hit a step-back jump shot that tied the game at 64-64 and brought the crowd at Page Arena to its feet. However, on the following possession, UW-Stout's AJ Uttech made a jump shot from the left wing as time expired, securing a 66-64 victory for the Blue Devils.
As a team, UW-River Falls forced 15 turnovers anc capitalized off 32 points in the paint and 19 points off turnovers. The Falcons finished 22-54 (40.7%) from the field.
Johnson and Leifker led the way on offense with 16 points each, while Micah Thompson added 10. Jacob Butler was the team's top rebounder with six, while Johnson and Leifker each recorded two steals and one block on the night.
Next up, UWRF will travel to Eau Claire, Wis. to face off against UW-Eau Claire on Jan. 11. The game is scheduled to tip off at 5 p.m.
