The Falcon men's basketball team got back on the winning track with a 77-59 WIAC win over UW-La Crosse at the Karges Center on Wednesday night.

Wade Guerin (Bloomington, MN, St. Croix Lutheran HS) and Shane Manor (Altoona, WI, UW-Superior) each scored 16 points to lead the Falcons, who are now 5-1 in WIAC play and 11-4 overall. The Falcons remain in a tie for first place with Stevens Point and Whitewater - both teams won WIAC games.

UWL had the hot hand early in the game and led for almost all of the first 11 minutes. They had two seven point leads, the latest (15-8) with 11:35 to play when Derek Braucht hit two free throws. But then the Falcons went on a 12-2 run to take 20-17 lead, and they would hold the lead for the rest of the half. After the Eagles got to within one (20-19) with 5:467 to play, the Falcons went on a 10-0 run to take a 30-19 lead with 3:23 to go. Taylor Peterson (Roselle, IL, Conant HS) and Manor each scored four points and Zach Peterson (Circle Pines, MN, Centennial HS) the other two in the run. UWRF's biggest lead was the halftime score, 36-22. Manor has 12 points in the first 20 minutes to lead both teams. Guerin and Taylor Peterson each had seven. The Falcons had a 22-14 advantage in rebounds - Guerin led the Falcons with six. UWRF shot 15-28 (.536) in the first half, compared to just 9-31 (.290) shooting by UWL. 

UWRF held the lead throughout the second half and led by double digits throughout the contest. The team's biggest lead was the final margin, 18 points. Twice the Falcons had 17 point leads. Guerin had a strong second half scoring nine points. Guerin's 16 points was his second best effort this year. All 15 players on the Falcon bench got in the game. 

"We played well defensively tonight," said Falcon Coach Jeff Berkhof after the game. "La Crosse got off to a good start but we made some adjustments that paid off. We knew coming in that La Crosse does some things well offensively and we had to have a strong defensive effort. I thought we took care of the ball better as the game went on."

Taylor Peterson's 14 points was the second most in his career and he had a solid game coming off the bench. "Taylor did a great job taking the ball to the basket and playing defense," said Berkhof.

UWL was led by Jack Taylor who scored 15 points going 4-7 from three-point range and 3-4 at the line. Al Cherry led the Eagles with seven rebounds. UWRF finished with a 40-27 advantage in rebounding.

The Falcons will next host UW-Eau Claire on Saturday at 5 p.m., at the Karges Center. UWEC enters the game 10-5 overall and 3-4 in WIAC play.

Box Score