OSHKOSH, Wis. (uwrfsports.com)- The UW-River Falls men's basketball team traveled to UW-Oshkosh to compete in its first WIAC Tournament Final since 2012. In the game that determines which team from the WIAC receives an automatic bid into the DIII NCAA Tournament, the Falcons (17-11, 9-5 WIAC) fell just short in their attempt to capture the WIAC Tournament crown.
 
The Falcons fell to the Titans 63-66 in a closely contested game that saw the Falcons starters score 56 of the 63 points.
 
Just like their previous game against UW-La Crosse, the Falcons found themselves in an early deficit. The Titans jumped out to an early 1-8 lead, but UWRF did not let the UWO get out to a bigger lead. Junior guard Grant Erickson, senior center Connor Goodwin, and senior forward Jon Christensen each scored a two-point field goal to trim the Titans deficit to 7-10.
 
Two three-point field goals from sophomore guard CJ Lewis and two three-point field goals from the Titans kept the Falcons' deficit at three points halfway through the first half.
 
After a free throw and a layup from the Titans to give themselves a 15-21 lead, junior forward Garret Pearson and junior guard Grant Erickson went on a 7-0 run to give the Falcons their first lead of the game at 22-21. During the run, Pearson buried a three-point field goal and made a layup and Erickson made two free throws.
 
The Titans retook the lead two possessions later and did not give it up the rest of the first half, but the Falcons did knot the game up before halftime. Down 29-32 with 30 seconds before halftime, the Falcons' sophomore guard Devin Buckley buried his only three-point field goal of the game to tie up the game before halftime.
 
The second half opened up with the lead changing between the Falcons and Titans three times. With the Falcons up 40-39, Jon Christensen drilled a three-point field goal to give the Falcons their biggest lead of the game at four points.
 
The Titans did not let the Falcons out of their sights, as they scored four straight points to tie the game at 43-43, but Devin Buckley gave UWRF the lead once again on a layup. The Falcons did not have the lead long, as the Titans' sharpshooter Charlie Noone buried one of his five three-point field goals.
 
The Titans distanced themselves from the Falcons via a 1-8 run and took a 48-56 lead with over six minutes to play in the second half. Pearson and Erickson scored two straight layups to bring UWRF within four points. The Titans countered the Falcons' four-point spurt with a five-point spurt of their own to put the Falcons in a nine-point hole with three-and-a-half minutes left in the second half.
 
The Falcons' leading scorers during the regular season Garret Pearson and Jon Christensen brought the Falcons back within three points with two clutch three-point field goals. That brought the score to 58-61 in favor of the Titans and it forced the UWO head coach to call a timeout.
 
The timeout must have worked because the Titans made a layup to give themselves a 58-63 lead with just over two-minutes left in the game.
 
Two possessions later, Connor Goodwin was fouled by the Titans with the opportunity to bring the Falcons within one possession of the Titans. Goodwin was unable to convert on the front end of the one-and-one and the Titans grabbed the defensive rebound.
 
With a minute left in the second half, the Falcons forced a missed three-point field goal, but were unable to get the offensive rebound. The Titans got the offensive rebound and were able to run-off 34 seconds off the clock before the Falcons were able to get the rebound.
 
With 23 seconds left in the game, Jon Christensen made a layup to get the Falcons within three points, but could not get any closer before the final buzzer sounded. The Titans defeated the Falcons 63-66.
 
In the loss, the Falcons had four out of the five starters in double figures. Jon Christensen led the Falcons with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Garret Pearson was second in scoring with 17 points and five rebounds. Grant Erickson and CJ Lewis each scored 10 points. Devin Buckley was the leading scorer off of the bench with five points.
 
The fate of the future for the Falcons now sits with the NCAA Tournament selection committee to see if they get an at-large berth into the DIII NCAA Tournament.