Nov. 21, 2009

The Falcons Men’s Basketball team dropped their first game of the year Saturday Night in the championship game of the Coach’s vs. Cancer Crown College Tip Off Classic.  Augsburg scored 53 second half points on their way to a 84-75 win over River Falls. The Falcons were just 9-21 (.429) from the free throw line in the game.The loss drops the Falcons to 2-1 on the year. 

This game was all about scoring streaks, beginning with River Falls leading 2-0 of a Brady Hannigan layup.  Then Augsburg would score 10 straight points to take a 10-2 lead.  The Falcons would battle back scoring 15 of the next 18 points to make it 17-13 Falcons who would lead 36-31 at the break.

In the second half River Falls would push their lead to six before Augsburg would battle back to take the lead for good at 49-47.  They would put the game away with 4:12 remaining when Ben Flavin’s free throw gave Augsburg a 76-61 lead capping off an 11-0 by the Auggies.

Jontae Koonkaew led the Falcons going 8-12 (.750) part of a game high 21 points.  He also added five assists, a block and a steal. 

Three other Falcons scored in double digits for the Falcons, Wade Guerin had 17 points, Spencer Shelman 14 points and Danny Johnson finished with 10.  It is the second straight game that four Falcons scored in double digits.

The Falcons shot 45.2 percent (28-62) from the field and 10-20 (.500) from beyond the arc.  The Falcons were just 9-21 (.429) from the charity strip and have now converted just 43.9 percent (18-41) of there free throws this season.  The Falcons turned the ball over 10 times in the game and also out rebounded Augsburg 37-34.

The loss drops the Falcons to 2-1 overall. The Falcons are next in action on Tuesday night when they host #4 St. Thomas at the Karges Center..  That game can be heard on WRFW Pure Radio 88.7 FM.  Tip off is 7 p.m.

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Nov. 20, 2009

Four Falcons scored in double figures to help lead the men's basketball team to a 92-70 win over Crown College on Friday night.

The Falcons won their first round game at the Crown Tournament with 17 players seeing action.

Jontae Koonkaew led UWRF with 18 points and he had five assists. He finished 8-9 from the field, including 1-2 from behind the arc. Aaron Anderson added 17 points, five rebounds and two assists. He was 5-10 from three-point range. Wade Guerin finished with 15 points and led the Falcons with nine rebounds. He was 6-9 from the field. Brady Hannigan scored 10 points and had four assists. Dijon Reese led UWRF with eight assists.

UWRF led 50-37 at the half after shooting 16-26 (.615) from the field. The Falcons scored the first five points of the game and never looked back. The team's biggest lead was 20 points, 47-27, with 5:01 to play. It came when Anderson hit a three-pointer. Crown got to with 13 at halftime by outscoring the Falcons, 10-3, in the final five minutes of the half.

The Falcons kept the pressure on in the second half and led by 30 points, 92-62, with 2:02 to play. The team's lead never got closer than 13 points in the second half.

UWRF shot very well throughout the game and finished 37-73 (.587) from the field, including 10-23 (.435) from behind the arc. UWRF was just 8-18 (.444) from the line. The Falcons had a 39-28 advantage in rebounds.

Crown was led by Mike Landers who scored 18 points.

The Falcons, 2-0 overall, will next play Augsburg in the championship game of the Crown Tourney on Saturday. The game starts at 7:30 p.m. Augsburg defeated Loras, 96-69, to reach the finals.

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Nov. 17, 2009

The Falcon men's basketball team opened the 2009-10 season with a 66-49 win at Viterbo University Tuesday night in La Crosse.

Jontae Koonkaew led the Falcon attack with 18 points, six assists, and five rebounds. Brady Hannigan tallied 11 points, six rebounds and three steals. Aaron Anderson added 11 points in the victory.

After falling behind 4-0 to open the game, the Falcons took their first lead of the game with 12 minutes remaining in the first half on a three-point field goal by Spencer Shelman. The Falcons never looked back. RF led by as many as 21 points in the first half before taking a 36-21 lead into halftime.

In the second half VU cut the lead to 11 with 10:15 remaining on a Joe Lopez field goal. But the Falcons proved too strong outscoring VU 19-13 in the closing 10 minutes to seal the victory.

Scott Buschman led VU with 24 points and 11 rebounds.

Strong three-point shooting helped the Falcons overcome a wide free throw disparity in the game as VU shot 21 more free throws than RF.

The Falcons shot 29-57 (.509) from the floor including 7-17 (.412) from beyond the arc. The Falcons finished the game 1-2 at the free throw line and outrebounded VU 34-28.

The Falcons, 1-0 overall, will next play Crown College on Friday at the Crown College Tipoff Classic. The game starts at 7:30 p.m.

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Nov. 13, 2009

By Steven Linzmeier
UWRF Sports Information

Excitement and expectations surround the UW-River Falls men’s basketball team coming into the new season. A year ago, the Falcons finished sixth in the WIAC and they return their entire starting line-up.

Last year, the Falcons finished 11-15 overall and 5-11 in WIAC play. They finished sixth overall and were defeated by Whitewater in the opening round of the WIAC playoffs.

Nine members from the 2008-09 WIAC All-Conference team have graduated. Everyone expects the conferences’ top teams to reload this season.

Four WIAC teams are ranked in the preseason D3Hoops.com poll. UW-Stevens Point at No. 10, UW-Whitewater at No. 13, UW-Platteville at No. 17 and UW-Oshkosh at No. 24.

“No one really knows what to expect, the conferences’ top seven teams could be on a collision course,” said Falcon Head Coach Jeff Berkhof.

Berkhof begins his fourth season as the Falcons head coach. He is 30-47 overall in his career at UWRF, but this marks his 18th year with River Falls. He played with the Falcons from 1992-94. Following that he was former Head Coach Rick Bowen’s top assistant for 12 seasons. Berkhof spent one season as the school’s interim head coach before getting the job for good in 2007.

From last year’s team, the Falcons lost Jesse Elling and Steve Farmer to graduation, and Colin Utke decided not to return for his sophomore year.

A season ago, the Falcons had three players earned All-WIAC honorable mention; Jontae Koonkaew, Aaron Anderson and Jake Voeltz. All three are back and will once again be relied on as the team’s key contributors.

Koonkaew averaged 15 points and 4.8 assists a game last year, coming off a knee injury that cost him most of the 2007-08 season. He led the WIAC in assists.

“He makes us go,” Berkhof said. “When his play is better, our team is better.”

Voeltz got his first real chance to play as a Falcon last year, and he made the most of it. He averaged 11.2 points and 5.5 rebounds a game, and lead the team with 59 offensive rebounds.

Anderson made an immediate impact as a freshman in 2008-09. He led the team in field goal percentage and three-point percentage. Anderson hit 44-88 from behind the arc, while averaging 8.8 points per game.

Other key returners for the Falcons include; Wade Guerin, Spencer Shelman and Danny Johnson and Brady Hannigan.

Guerin and Hannigan combined with Anderson, Koonkaew and Voeltz to make the majority of the starts last season. Guerin was third on the team in scoring with 9.3 points per game. He was also the team’s leading rebounder, grabbing over six rebounds a game.

Hannigan will begin his third season as a Falcon. Last year he averaged just over six points a game. A lot of what Hannigan does on the court doesn’t show up in the box score. He is the team’s top defender and saves multiple possessions a game on pure hustle.

“Brady has been our hardest worker in the offseason,” Berkhof commented.

Shelman and Johnson will continue to be key role players for the Falcons. Shelman is the team’s only senior coming into the season. Last year, his first with the Falcons, he averaged about four points a game. Shelman played in all 26 games and had the lowest amount of turnovers among the players that played in all the games.

Johnson also played in all 26 games. He shot 43 percent from the field and from the three-point line. He was also second on the team in assists.

D.J. Reese returns this season after missing the last year and a half. Reese got off to a good start in 2007-08 before being ruled ineligible due to academics after the semester break. Reese will provide point guard depth, which will allow Johnson to play his more natural position of two-guard.

The Falcons also bring in a solid recruiting class that will need to provide depth on the front line.

Along with the season opener on Tuesday at Viterbo, the Falcons are looking forward to their first home game. They will take on the No. 4 team in the country on Nov. 24, the St. Thomas Tommies.

“Last year, we took one step-up the ladder,” Berkhof said. “Now, we must take that next step. It’s going to be tougher, but it’s a step we expect to take.”

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