STEVENS POINT, Wis. — The UW-River Falls Men's Basketball team lost a close road matchup on Wednesday, February 5, falling to UW-Stevens Point by a final score of 62-53.

A big final stretch in the second half by the Pointers tilted the game in favor of the home team, as UWRF saw a tie game with 8:44 to go slip into a nine-point loss. The defeat dropped UW-River Falls' record on the year to 7-13 overall and 1-8 in WIAC play.

In the first half, the Falcons built an early 7-2 lead, before the Pointers bounced back with a run of their own to retake a 14-8 lead with 11 minutes to go. Jacob Butler's three-pointer at the 8:17 mark, one of his two threes in the first half, recaptured a 16-15 UWRF lead, as the first half proved to be a game of runs.

UW-Stevens Point pulled ahead by five points, but the Falcons tied the game at 25-25 with 2:24 remaining in the half, and eventually went into halftime trailing by a narrow margin of 30-29. Zac Johnson led the way in the first half with seven points, three assists, and two rebounds. The Falcons shot 10-22 (45.5%) from the field and went 5-10 (50%) from long range.

The Falcons saw their field goal shooting dip to 8-22 (36.4%) in the second half, while the Pointers went 11-25 (44%). The first 11 minutes was neck-and-neck, as UWRF trimmed a six-point deficit into a 46-46 ballgame with 8:44 to go — Jeremy Wanguhu scored a layup that knotted the game.

The contest stayed within reach for the next few minutes of action, as a layup by Mason Anderson cut UW-Stevens Points' lead to 51-49 with 5:16 to go. However, a 11-4 run by the Pointers to close out the game limited UWRF's chances for a comeback, as UW-Stevens Point went on to win by nine.

Johnson finished with a game-high 13 points, while also totaling five rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Jack Leifker totaled nine points, while Wanguhu and Butler both finished with eight.

As a team, UWRF finished 18-44 (40.9%) from the field and 8-21 (38.1%) from three-point range.

Next up, UWRF will return to Page Arena to host UW-Oshkosh at  5 p.m. on Feb. 8. The Falcons will celebrate Alumni Day, honoring past members of the program.