RIVER FALLS, Wis. – Despite a strong offensive night, the UW-River Falls men's basketball team came up just short in a tightly contested 81-76 loss to Carleton College Wednesday night at Page Arena.
The Falcons shot 49 percent from the field and held a 39-35 halftime lead, but a late Carleton rally swung the momentum to the Knights as they closed the final minutes.
In the second half, trailing by nine with under four minutes to play, the Falcons surged back behind a quick 8-0 spurt from Postel to pull within three points with just over a minute left. Thompson found the bottom of the net inside the final minute to keep within one score, but the Knights answered at the line to hold off the comeback.
Reggie Postel led UWRF with 18 points off the bench, knocking down four three-pointers and giving the Falcons steady scoring throughout both halves.
Jack Leifker added 17 points and seven rebounds on 7-of-9 shooting, attacking the paint early to build multiple first-half leads.
Micah Thompson finished the night with 15 points while
Gavin Ralph lead the team in rebounds, pulling in eight boards.
UWRF totaled 28 bench points, won the paint battle 38-36, and forced nine Carleton turnovers, but the Knights' 10 made threes and late game scoring proved to be the difference.
UW-River Falls moves to 1-2 on the season and will return to action this weekend to take on the Concordia College Cobbers in Moorhead, Minn., this Saturday.
