RIVER FALLS, Wis. — The UW-River Falls Men's Basketball team dropped a tight contest against UW-La Crosse 86-79 at Page Arena on Wednesday, February 19. UW-La Crosse entered the week ranked No. 5 in the D3hoops.com top-25 poll.
The Falcons played one of their strongest games of the season, leading by as much as seven points in the second half, but the Eagles ultimately prevailed. The loss dropped UWRF to 9-15 on the year and 3-10 in the WIAC. This marked the final home game of the 2024-25 campaign.
The game began at an electric pace, with both teams scoring with ease. The Falcons looked comfortable keeping with the Eagles offensive speed, with two Drew Adams jumpers making it 12-9 Falcons early in the first half. Momentum began to shift towards the Falcons, going on 12-2 run, cemented by back-to-back Jacob Butler assists, making the score 24-14 with 10:00 remaining in the first; the largest lead of the game for UW-River Falls.
After a UW-La Crosse free throw with five seconds left, a miraculous Jacob Butler pass to Riley Ashburn for a layup helped the Falcons beat the buzzer and take a 44-38 lead into the half. The Falcons bench outscored the Eagles 21-3 at the half. Zac Johnson led the way with nine points at the half, while Dustin Derousseau guided the Eagles with 14 at the break, being one of only two Eagles players with a positive plus/minus.
The strong pace continued into the second half, but more in the favor of UW-La Crosse, who quickly brought the lead down to two early. The Eagles were able to tie it at 53 each when Zac Johnson started to crack the Eagles transition defense, sprinting down the court for multiple fastbreak layup opportunities. Johnson scored seven consecutive points for the Falcons, yet the team only found themselves up two with 12:27 to go.
A Regan Merritt three-pointer gave the Falcons their final lead of the night, 70-69 with 7:42 left. Both teams kept it interesting, with Jacob Butler's layup tying the game at 74-74, but after the Eagles' Karter Thomas hit a layup with 4:15 left, the Eagles led for the remainder of the game. The Falcons were only able to make three field goals in the final five minutes. The Eagles' consistency from the free throw line in the final minute solidified the win for UW-La Crosse.
Fifth-year senior Regan Merritt finished the game with 14 points and 4-6 shooting from the three-point line. This marked a season-high in points and his highest scoring total since the 2021-22 season. His four three-point makes is also a career-high. Zac Johnson finished the game with a team-high 16 points. Drew Adams ended with 12 points, tying his season-high.
UW-La Crosse's starting lineup scored 78 of the team's 86 total points. Four of their five starters rank among the top 15 scorers in the WIAC. Of those starters, Dustin Derousseau led the Eagles with 22 points, followed by Karter Thomas with 20, Sam Grieger with 14, JJ Paider with 11, and Will Fuhrmann with 11.
The Falcons shot 33-65 (50.8%), 8-21 (38.1%) from three, and 5-6 (83.3%) from the free-throw line. UWRF's 50.8% shooting clip marked the Falcons third-highest shooting percentage of the season and their highest that came in a loss. It was also the Falcons' highest assist total of the season with 17.
Next up, the Falcons will close out the regular season on the road at No. 3 UW-Platteville on Feb. 22. The game is set to tip off at 5 p.m.
