La Crosse, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's basketball team held off a second half surge from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls to earn a 80-72 victory Wednesday night in Mitchell Hall. The win moves UWL to 11-1 overall and 1-1 in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) while UW-River Falls drops to 7-6 overall and 0-2 in the WIAC.

UWL, ranked 17th on D3hoops.com, scored the 11 points of the game, going five-of-eight from the field. The Eagles led, 27-18 with 9:26 remaining in the first half after back-to-back three-pointers from Zac Haese and Terek Nesheim. The Falcons used a 14-4 run to take a 32-31 lead with 2:25 left on a Jack Stensgard layup. Wyatt Cook's layup followed by a Haese jumper and two free throws from Cook gave UWL a 37-32 lead. The Eagles led, 37-34, at halftime. 

Six different UWL players scored in the first half, shooting 53.6% from the field. 

UW-River Falls led by as many as five points in the second half, including 46-41 with 15:47 left on Matt Keller's jumper. The second half featured eight ties, including 68-68, with 2:42 remaining.  Cook's three-point play with 1:54 left gave UWL a 71-68 lead. Keller's jumper with 1:31 remaining cut the lead to one, but UWL scored the next seven points for a 78-70 lead.  Luke Norcia hit a three-point field goal with 1:03 remaining while Ethan Anderson (:40 left) and Norcia (:28) each made a pair of free throws. UW-River Falls could get no closer than six points the rest of the game. 

UWL shot 48.1% from the field, including 29.2% (seven-of-24) from three-point range, and 77.8% (21-of-27) from the line. UWL was 18-of-19 (94.7%) at the line in the second half. Cook led the Eagles with 21 points while also adding four rebounds and three steals. Nesheim scored 13 points with team-high five assists.  Seth Anderson also finished with 13 points while Norcia had 10 points and team-leading seven rebounds. 

UW-River Falls shot 51.0% from the field, including 47.6% (10-of-21) from three-point range and 58.8% (10-of-17) at the line. Stensgard led with the Falcons with 17 points and five assists. Keller added 13 points while Noah Hanson had 12 points and team-high seven rebounds.

UWL returns to action Saturday, January 11 hosting UW-Stevens Point at 5 p.m.