Other than the first basket of the game, UW-River Falls led for the first five minutes of the game, the ending lead margin 9-4 with 15:00 left in the half.  From that point UW-W switched gears, going on a 15-3 run for a 19-12 lead at 10:00 punctuated by a dunk by KJ Evans after a Luke Knoble steal.  The Falcons pulled back to within three, 19-16 at 7:22, but the Warhawks' 9-2 run that followed gave UW-W its largest lead of the half 28-18 with 3:33 left.  That would be the last field goal of the half for Whitewater as the Falcons closed the gap to 31-28 at halftime, with sophomore guard Taylor Peterson hitting a three as the buzzer sounded.

Whitewater, coming off 71% shooting performance in Wednesday's win over Cardinal Stritch, hit 38% of its shots from the floor in the first twenty minutes.  River Falls shot 48%.  The Warhawks margin came at the free throw line, where UW-W was 8-11 and UW-RF just 1-2.  Whitewater's bench out-scored the Falcon reserves 15-3.  Warhawk sophomore guard Quardell Young led both teams with 11 points and four assists.  Senior center Zach Peterson topped the Falcons with ten points and four rebounds.

The second half settled nothing.  Although Whitewater held a lead until 12:30, when Will Taylor's jumper tied the game 39-39, and from then on it was a tenuous margin throughout the half.  With the score 59-59 Whitewater missed a shot with 0:33 left, and fouled on the rebound to give the Falcons the ball and the last shot.  UW-RF worked the clock down to the final second, but was called for an offensive foul with 1.1 seconds left and the game went into overtime.

Whitewater limited River Falls to four points in the five minutes of overtime on 1-7 shooting.  UW-W scored the first six points of overtime, four by Knoble.  The Falcons did not score for the first 3:16 of the extra period, when Arik Smith hit a free through to break the drought.  Taylor Peterson converted a three point play, after two misses, to pull UW-RF to within 65-63 with 0:38 remaining, but Young made the first of two free throws for a 66-63 lead.  RF grabbed the rebound, called timeout, and missed the subsequent three point attempt and rebound put back.  Junior guard Alex Merg corralled the ball for UW-W, was fouled, and hit the final two free throws with :06 left.

The difference maker continued to be free throw shooting.  Whitewater made 16-21, River Falls 7-10.  That offset the Falcons' 8-15 three point accuracy for the game.  Whitewater's also forced 15 turnovers by the Falcons.

Warhawk junior guard Eric Bryson led all scorers with 17 points, and led UW-W with eight boards and four steals.  Young added 14 points and a game high eight assists.  Also in double figures were Knoble with 12 and junior guard Patrick Souter with 10.  Zach Peterson and senior forward UT Udo scored 15 apiece for UW-RF, with Taylor Peterson and freshman center David Berthene contributing 10.  Udo notched a double double, adding a game high ten rebounds.

UW-W will play at UW-Platteville Wednesday, January 9 at 7:00.  The next home game for the Warhawks will be Wednesday, January 16 at 7:00 with UW-Oshkosh visiting Kachel Gym in Williams Center.