Men’s basketball opens season 3-4, rivals mediocre 2022
December 11, 2023
UW-River Falls men’s basketball finds itself in a hole, similar to last season. After seven games, their 3-4 record mirrors their 2022 campaign.
The Falcons started 3-4 in 2022 and finished 11-15 overall. UWRF struggled in the conference as well, going 5-9 against opponents in the WIAC. Late in the season, River Falls beat Stout and Stevens Point, leading to a WIAC tournament birth as the #6 seed. They would lose narrowly to UW-Whitewater in the first round, ending their season.
Following the 2022 season, the Falcons lost starting center Rodrick Payne. Payne had dominant 2021 and 2022 outings as he averaged 14.1 and 16.8 points, respectively. As a star at Division III UWRF, he transferred to Division I Western Illinois University for the 2023 season.
Jack Leifker sat behind Payne during the 2022 season and has played in all seven games this year. He’s averaging 9 points and has a field goal percentage of .391. Without the familiar double-digit scoring from Payne, River Falls has relied on other shooters.
River Falls attained Guard Zac Johnson during the offseason. Through seven games, he leads all Falcon scorers, averaging 16.6 points and totaling 116.
Logan Jedwabny has remained a critical point of the Falcon offense, going 18-of-41 from the three-point line this season. He currently leads the team in three-pointers made. It’s a familiar title for Jedwabny, as he led the Falcons last season with 69 made three-pointers. And for Jedwabny, he’s consistent when shooting for three, going 87 on 222 total three-point attempts in his career at UWRF.
The Falcon offense has felt a boost from a rebounding Noah Hanson. Hanson was the team’s leading scorer in 2021, as River Falls found a WIAC in-tournament win against UW-Eau Claire in the first round. However, Hanson missed the entirety of the 2022 season due to injury. This season, Hanson scored double-digit points in back-to-back games. With 12 against Crown College and 17 against Viterbo University, Hanson has turned back the clock to help his team win two straight games.
Despite losing four games, River Falls has only lost by a combined 17 points. Frustratingly enough, they have a total scoring margin of +21 this season.
As of games played through Dec. 10, the Falcons have the worst overall record in the WIAC at 3-4.
Conference matchups have given the Falcons trouble in recent seasons. Since 2017, River Falls has only one winning season against WIAC opponents.
They undoubtedly hope to cushion their record without any in-conference games in Dec. River Falls won’t play a WIAC opponent until Jan. 3, 2024, when they start a 14-game stretch against in-conference teams.