Falcons basketball struggles in second half, drops to 3-4

The UW-River Falls men’s basketball team hosted UW-Whitewater in their third straight home game on December 3. The Falcons came in at 3-3, eager to get back into the conference race against their visiting rival, the 4-3 Warhawks.

Following a disappointing performance in the previous week’s Eau Claire at River Falls match, the Falcons looked to get their team’s second-leading scorer Logan Jedwabny back on track. Shooting three straight three-pointers, two of which belonged to Jedwabny, the Falcons jumped out to an early 18-9 lead.

Falcons center Rodrick Payne continued his season of domination on offense, scoring nine points within the first 5:10 of the game.

The Warhawks pushed back late in the first half following a slow start. They outscored the Falcons 15-10 in the final 7:30 of the half, bringing the score to 34-37 at the break.

Frustrated by the small deficit, the Warhawks immediately went on a 14-2 run to begin the second half. Rodrick Payne committed his fourth foul with 15:25 to play, forcing the Falcons to rely on shots from their other stars. Although Logan Jedwabny had a promising start to the night, he went 0-of-9 on threes following his 2-of-2 start.

Reliable scorer Will Van Scoy also missed opportunities as he went 0-of-3 from the field, 0-of-1 on threes, and finished with zero points. The Warhawks capitalized heavily on Falcon mishaps and grabbed a lead of 52- 43 with 13:20 to play.

Facing a nine-point deficit, forward Garret Honstrom assisted the Falcons in closing the gap. He sank a pair of jumpers along with four free throws, helping the Falcons pull within one at the seven-minute mark. He ended the night with a season-high fourteen points, eleven ahead of starting forward Marshall Holland.

With 4:16 to play, the Falcons trailed by only one but failed to finish. They shot 1-of6 overall, went 0-of-2 on free throws, and committed two turnovers to end the game. The Warhawks went on an astonishing 16-2 run and closed the game, winning 75-60.

Second-half struggles continue to define the Falcons. Their opponents have outscored them in the second half of all seven games this season, with a total point differential of +46 over the Falcons. This trend kept up against the Warhawks as the Falcons were outscored 41-23 in the second half. The Falcons have fallen to the eighth seed in the WIAC with a record of 3-4. They hope to right the ship on December 7 against the Viterbo V-Hawks.