RIVER FALLS, Wis. — The UW-River Falls Men's Basketball team took advantage of a huge second half to take a 72-66 victory over UW-Whitewater at Page Arena on Saturday, February 15.
After trailing by six at halftime, the Falcons shot 65.2% from the field in the second half and outscored the Warhawks 47-35 to ride off with a six-point win at home. The win improved UWRF's record on the year to 9-14 overall and 3-9 in WIAC play. The game also served as the program's 2024-25 Senior Day, where 10 graduating players were honored prior to the game: Mateo Renta, Bennett Wright, Regan Merritt, Dylan Parker, Sean Sullivan, Nick DeLuca, Charlie Herrick, Zac Johnson, Drew Adams, and Mason Anderson.
The game opened as a neck-and-neck affair, with neither team leading by more than three points through the first 10 minutes. Whitewater built its lead to 28-18 with 2:35 remaining, but the Falcons chipped away and benefited from a Sean Sullivan three-pointer with four seconds remaining that cut the halftime deficit to 31-25. Jack Leifker led the way with 10 points and four rebounds in the first half.
UWRF flipped the switch in the second half, shooting lights out — the Falcons went 15-23 (65.2%) from the field and 5-7 (71.4%) from three-point range.
UW-Whitewater still held a steady lead early in the half, but a layup by Leifker with 13:24 tied the game at 42-42, a tipping point in which the Falcons never trailed for the remainder of the game. The layup was part of a 12-3 run for UWRF that saw the home team jump out to a 50-45 lead with 9:26 to go.
A hot streak from Sean Sullivan, which included two three-pointers and a pair of free-throws, was followed by a three-pointer from Regan Merritt that pushed UW-River Falls' lead to 62-51 with 5:15 left to go.
The Warhawks came as close as three points down the stretch, but the Falcons managed to hold off any late comebacks with their performance at the free-throw line. In the second half, UWRF held UW-Whitewater to 8-28 (28.6%) from the field and 3-12 (25%) from three-point range in the second half, as the Falcons held on to win 72-66.
Sullivan finished with 11 points off 3-3 shooting from three-point range, in addition to five rebounds — all three are career-bests. Leifker led the way in scoring with 25 points off 10-15 shooting, marking his third straight 20-point performance. Zac Johnson totaled 16 points off 7-11 shooting.
As a team, UWRF finished the game 26-52 (50%) from the field and 6-15 (40%) from three-point range. The Falcons capitalized off 30 points in the paint and 20 points off the bench.
Up next, the Falcons will remain at home next Wednesday, hosting the UW-La Crosse Eagles at 7 p.m. on Feb. 19.
