Box Score
RIVER FALLS – UW-River Falls used strong starts in both halves and a 21-8 run to close out the game to hand the top-ranked UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team a 73-60 loss on Saturday afternoon.
The Falcons jumped out to an early 14-4 lead in the game's opening minutes. The Pointers slowly chipped away at the lead and built a six point lead of their own, 31-27, with just under two minutes remaining in the first half.
River Falls scored the final five points of the half, cutting the Pointer lead to just one, 31-30, at the break.
The host Falcons scored the first five points of the second half to erase the Pointer lead and take a four point edge of their own, 35-31.
The Pointers tied the game at 52-52 with 8:09 remaining on a layup by Jordan Giordana (Kaukauna, WI/Kaukauna), but the Falcons answered with a 13-2 run to push their advantage to double digits, 65-54.
The Falcons controlled the ball the rest of the way, letting their double-digit lead dip to single digits only once, an eight point edge, with 1:07 remaining, as they earned the 13 point victory.
UW-Stevens Point shot just 37.5 percent from the for the game and 30.4 percent from the three-point line on the afternoon.
Vinny Ritchay (Wisconsin Rapids/Lincoln) led the way for the Pointers, scoring a career-high 14 points off the bench while Jerrel Harris (Milwaukee/Dominican) and Louis Hurd (Portage/Portage) each added 11 in the loss. Nick Krull (Marshall/Marshall) finished as the team's leading rebounder collecting six, all defensive.
Jontae Koonkaew led four Falcons scoring in double figures with 20. Jake Voeltz added 17 points and 11 rebounds.
UW-Stevens Point (4-1, 1-1 WIAC) returns to action on Wednesday, Dec. 8 when they host UW-Whitewater in another conference match-up at Bennett Court. The game will also be a “Gold Out” and all fans in attendance are encouraged to wear gold.
