Four members of the Falcon men's basketball team have earned either first team or honorable mention honors to the 2004 All-WIAC team. Coach Rick Bowen has been named the WIAC Coach of the Year.

Rich Melzer (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn. River Falls HS) has been named to the first team. Micah Helfrey (Sr., Mesa, Ariz.), Chris Becker (Sr., Stone Lake, Wis. Hayward HS) and Billy Halter (Sr., Apple Valley, Minn.) all earned honorable mention honors.

Melzer was named to the first team for the third straight season. He led the WIAC in scoring for the second straight season averaging 26.9 points in 2004. He is third in scoring in the NCAA Div. III in the Feb. 22 report. He finished second in rebounding averaging 8.5. Melzer finished second in field goal shooting (280-502 .558), 13th in free throw shooting (162-221 .733), 13th in steals (32), 12th in assist to turnover ratio (.96) and fourth in blocked shots (44). He scored a season-high 37 points and grabbed a season-high 14 rebounds at Puget Sound on Nov. 22.

Helfrey finished second in scoring for the Falcons with an 8.4 average. He started every game for the Falcons in 2004 and was a key contributor to the team's success at point guard. He averaged 2.7 rebounds a game. Helfrey led the WIAC in assists (120), finished 21st in scoring, eighth in steals (34) and eighth in assist to turnover ration (1.52). He twice scored 17 points this year - on Jan. 3 at home against UW-Whitewater and on Feb. 26 in the WIAC semifinals at home against UW-Platteville. He had seven assists in four games - the last on Feb. 23 at home against UW-Eau Claire in a WIAC playoff game.

Becker was a four-year player for the Falcons and had an outstanding senior season. He was consistently one of the team's top players in all phases of the game. He finished fourth on the team in scoring with a 7.3 a game and second in rebounding with a 5.4 average. In the WIAC he was 28th in scoring, 10th in rebounding, fifth in assists (82), 15th in steals (29), 13th in three-point field goal percentage (35-98 .357), 13th in three-pointers made (35) and second in assist to turnover ratio (1.86). He scored a season-high 17 points at St. Cloud on Nov. 29 and had a season-high 10 rebounds at UW-Stout on Jan. 21.

Halter played his second season at UWRF after transferring from MSU-Moorhead. He was an excellent outside shooter who hit several important baskets throughout the season. He was third in scoring for the Falcons with a 7.7 average. He averaged 3.4 rebounds a game, third on the team. In the WIAC he finished 24th in scoring, first in three-point field goal shooting (43-81 .531) and 10th in three-pointers made (43). Halter scored a season-high 19 points at home against UW-Stout on Feb. 17 and had a season-high seven rebounds at UW-Whitewater on Feb. 14.

Bowen led the Falcons to the University's first WIAC men's basketball championship since 1950. The Falcons finished 20-7 overall and 12-4 in the WIAC in 2004. The 20 wins is third most in a season in Falcon history. He has crafted a 251-213 career record in 18 years at UWRF. The Falcons have had 12 winning seasons during Bowen's tenure. Since 1950 the Falcons have enjoyed just eight winning seasons before Bowen arrived in the 1986-87 season. He is UWRF's all-time winningest basketball coach.

Go to the Falcon statistics page.

Go to the WIAC page.