RIVER FALLS, Wis. — The UW-River Falls Men's Basketball team earned an overtime victory this Saturday night at Page Arena, defeating UW-Oshkosh 76-68.
The win improved UWRF's record on the season to 8-13 overall and 2-8 in WIAC competition. The Falcons were scorching from the field overall, shooting 50% on the night, the third highest mark of the season for UWRF. Falcons center Jack Leifker was efficient in the win, scoring a season-best 24 points.
The game was a celebration of Alumni Day, as past members of the UWRF men's basketball program were honored.
The first half started on a high note for UW-River Falls, as the Falcons jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead within the first 1:05 of game action. UW-Oshkosh settled in and made the game close, which was the theme of the game for the rest of the night.
UW-River Falls fell behind 20-13 with 11:57 to go in the first, but the Falcons managed to chip away at the deficit and pull within one possession with 7:08 remaining (25-24, UWO). Jack Leifker allowed UWRF to retake the lead with 3:22 remaining (30-29, UWRF), hitting a jump shot — he scored 12 points in the first half. A flurry of threes by both teams that ended with a Zac Johnson long range shot with 1:02 remaining saw the Falcons take a narrow 35-32 lead into the halftime intermission. In the first half, UWRF shot 10-19 (52.6%) from the field and 5-10 (50%) from three-point range.
The second half was a back-and-forth affair for 20 minutes, as both teams exchanged the lead numerous times but never led by more than four points. With 1:32 remaining, a layup by Leifker put the Falcons up 62-59. The Titans bounced back with an and-one by Carter Thomas that knotted the game up at 62-62 with 1:14 remaining. Both teams had chances down the stretch, but ultimately regulation ended with a 62-62 tie.
After UW-Oshkosh scored the first two points of the overtime period, UW-River Falls bounced back emphatically with an 11-2 run that gave UWRF its largest lead of the night, 73-64 with 1:01 remaining. The Falcons added a flurry of free-throw conversions down the stretch and limited the Titans to 2-12 (16.7%) from the field and 0-5 from three-point range in the overtime period. UWRF ran off with a 14-6 advantage in the extra period, winning 76-68.
Leifker's season-best 24 points marked his third 20-point game of the season — he also led UWRF with seven rebounds on the night, as well as two assists. Zac Johnson finished with 11 points and five rebounds, while Micah Thompson (11) and Regan Merritt (10) both finished in double figures.
As a team, UWRF capitalized off 34 points in the paint, and were aided by 33 bench points. The Falcons finished 28-56 (50%) from the field and 8-16 (50%) from long range.
Next on the schedule, UW-River Falls will travel to Menomonie to face off with UW-Stout on Feb 12. The game is set to tip off at 7 p.m.
