Box Score
River Falls 58, Yellowjackets 57
Box Score
The last time the UW-Superior men's basketball team faced off against the UW-River Falls Falcons, it took a buzzer-beating three-point shot from Ben Aalfs (Hutchinson, Minn./Hutchinson) to allow the Yellowjackets to pull out an 85-82 victory back on January 18 at Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium.
On Wednesday night, turnabout proved to be fair play as the Falcons turned the tables on the Yellowjackets, getting a long three of their own from Aaron Anderson with just 5.4 seconds left in regulation to edge past the Yellowjackets 58-57 in a thriller at the Karges Center in River Falls.
UW-Superior had one last chance to win in regulation when Jarrod Peterson (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) took an inbounds pass and raced the length of the court before his last-second shot fell off the front rim, allowing the Falcons to escape with the win.
The Yellowjackets (13-10 overall, 7-7 WIAC) started slowly in the rematch, falling behind 11-0 in the opening minutes as Wade Guerin converted two layups, Shane Manor converted a running jumper and Brian Kimble knocked down a three-pointer for the Falcons with 15:18 remaining in the first half.
UW-Superior responded however behind a three by Peterson, along with layups by Bronson Byrne (Chanhassen, Minn./Chaska) and Dustin Ritchie (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior). Brendan Bauer (Eleva, Wis./Gilmanton) then stepped up to hit a jumper and a three of his own to even matters 15-15 with 7:22 left in the opening half.
From there, the two teams traded baskets before a three by Anderson with 53 seconds left in the first half gave the Falcons (17-5, 11-2) a narrow 29-28 advantage at the half.
UW-River Falls expanded their lead to 41-36 early in the second half as Kimble scored a layup with 12:54 showing on the clock.
The Falcons' lead eventually grew to 45-38 when Manor converted a layup with 10:15 left in the second half.
UW-Superior came right back, getting layups from Bauer, Byrne and Ritchie before a three by Peterson with 4:51 gave the Yellowjackets a 51-49 advantage.
Following a jumper by Manor that evened matters at 51-51, the Yellowjackets again forged ahead when Aalfs connected on a wide-open three with 1:12 left to give UW-Superior a 54-51 edge.
Two free throws by Manor brought UW-River Falls to within 54-53 before two free throws by Byrne gave the Yellowjackets a 56-53 advantage with 20 seconds remaining in the second half.
The Yellowjackets still held the lead with 15 seconds left when Dustin Ritchie (Superior, Wis./Superior Senior) knocked down a free throw to make it a 57-55 UW-Superior lead.
But Anderson finally gave UW-River Falls the lead for good, taking a pass from Kimble and knocking down a three from the top of the key to provide the winning margin for the Falcons.
The Yellowjackets were led by Ritchie with 14 points while Peterson chipped in with 13 points.
UW-River Falls was led by Manor with a game-high 22 points. Ollie White finished with 13 points for the Falcons, who outrebounded the Yellowjackets 34-29.
UW-Superior returns home Saturday to host UW-Whitewater at Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasiuim starting at 3 p.m. The game can be heard locally on 91.3 FM KUWS with Matt Johnson and Monte Stewart on the call.
