River Falls, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's basketball team fell 77-74 in overtime at UW-River Falls Wednesday night in Page Arena. The Eagles drop to 11-9 overall and 3-6 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) while the Falcons improve to 14-5 overall and 5-4 in the conference. UW-River Falls is ranked 24th in this D3hoops.com Top-25 Poll. 

UWL has lost four conference games by a combined nine points.

UW-River Falls led 17-11 with 13:13 left in the first half on a Clay Seifert three-pointer when UWL went on a 21-2 run to lead 32-19 with 3:28 remaining after Lane Von Rueden's jumper. The Eagles hit eight-of-13 shots from the field in their run while the Falcons were one-of-10. UW-River Falls cut the deficit to 32-21 with 3:21 remaining in the half, but UWL scored the final six points to lead 38-21 at halftime. UWL shot 57.7% (15-of-26) from the field in the first half, including 66.7% (four-of-six) from three-point range. 

UWL led 41-27 with 16:27 left on a Milton Cummings three-pointer, but UW-River Falls used a 12-2 run to cut it to 43-39 with 12:52 remaining. The Eagles later led 46-42 when it went on a 11-4 run to lead 57-46 with 8:00 left after Sam Skoyen's three-pointer. UWL took a 62-48 lead with 6:53 remaining after Terek Nesheim's three-point field goal. 

The Eagles led 62-52 with 5:32 remaining and 66-59 with 1:32 left, but the Falcons ended regulation with a 8-1 run to force overtime. Alex Herink made a pair of free throws with :38 left to cut the lead to 67-65 and after a pair of missed UWL free throws, Seifert's layup with :22 tied the contest, 67-67. UWL missed a three-point attempt with :01 remaining.

UW-River Falls never trailed in overtime. The Falcons took a 73-69 lead with 3:20 left, but the Eagles tied the game at 74-74 with :48 remaining after Taulvish McCray hit a three-pointer. Brennan Witt was fouled on the next possession and made both free throws with :40 left for a 76-74 lead. UWL missed a three-pointer with :21 remaining and Seifert hit one-of-two at the line with :13 left for a 77-74 lead. UWL failed to get a shot off at the end of overtime.

UWL shot 42.9% from the field, including 55.0% (11-of-20) from three-point range, and 70.0% (seven-of-10) at the free throw line. Tanner Bruchs led the Eagles with 14 points while Skoyen finished with 12 and Ben Meinholz 11. Brendon Manning had a game-high 11 rebounds. 

UW-River Falls shot 47.9% from the field, including 44.4% (eight-of-18) from three-point range, and 74.2% (23-of-31) at the line. Seifert led the Falcons with 20 points while Witt finished with 19 and Herink with 17. Herink had a team-high seven rebounds.

UWL returns to action Saturday, February 3 hosting 20th-ranked UW-Platteville at 5 p.m.