River Falls stands alone
Falcons claim WIAC crown
UW-River Falls clinched the WIAC regular-season title by taking down UW-Whitewater, its closest pursuer, 69-63, on Saturday night at home.
Garret Pearson’s jumper with 6:33 remaining sparked an 8-2 run that gave the Falcons (21-2, 11-1 conference) a 60-54 lead with 2:38 remaining that the Warhawks (18-4, 8-4) were unable to overcome.
Pearson finished with 12 points and 15 rebounds for River Falls.
Scotty Tyler led Whitewater with 16 points. UW-Stevens Point 76, UW-Stout 64: The Pointers (12-10, 6-6 WIAC) jumped out to a 16-6 lead and never trailed against the Blue Devils (13-10, 4-8) in Menomonie. UW-Eau Claire 88, UWLa Crosse 69: The Blugolds (16-6, 6-5) grounded the visiting Eagles (12-10, 4-7) behind Chris Duff’s 21 points. UW-Oshkosh 77, UWPlatteville
69: Ben Boots scored 21 points as the host Titans (14-9, 7-5 WIAC) took care of the Pioneers (8-15, 1-11). Truman State 64, UWParkside 61: The host Rangers (19-5, 11-4 GLVC) trimmed a 15-point deficit to one with 57 seconds left but were unable to get over the hump against the Bulldogs (18-7, 10-5). Grinnell 91, St. Norbert 87: The Green Knights (17-4, 14-2) missed a chance to clinch at least a share of the Midwest Conference title as the host Pioneers (14-7, 7-9) grabbed the lead for good with 5:58 left. Ripon 73, Illinois College 62: Ty Sabin scored 35 points and hauled in 11 rebounds for the Red Hawks (16-5, 13-3 Midwest), who moved within a game of St. Norbert in the standings with their win over the host Blueboys (714, 4-12). Lawrence 68, Monmouth 65: The Vikings (911, 10-6 Midwest) saw a 15point lead in the second half dwindle to one on several occassions, but they held on when Jon Matthews missed a threepointer for the visiting Fighting Scots (6-15, 6-10) with 2 seconds left.
Knox 73, Beloit 57: Andrew Bremner scored 21 points for the Buccaneers (6-15, 4-12 Midwest) in their loss to the host Prairie Fire (2-19, 2-14). Benedictine 107, Edgewood 67: Benedictine (20-4, 18-1 NACC) wrapped up the league’s regular-season title by routing host Edgewood (518, 5-13) in a battle of the Eagles. MSOE 92, Dominican 64: The Raiders (11-11, 10-8 NACC) shot down the visiting Stars (11-12, 8-10) behind a balanced attack led by Collin Seubert’s 14 points. Wisconsin Lutheran 88, Concordia (Ill.) 78:
Collin Kennedy’s doubledouble of 28 points and 13 rebounds led the Warriors (13-10, 10-8 NACC) over the Cougars (5-18, 4-14) in River Forest, Ill. Aurora 75, Concordia 73: The Falcons (13-9, 11-6
NACC) were held scoreless over the final 2:53 of the game in falling to the Spartans (16-7, 14-4) in Mequon. Marian 86, Rockford 82: The Sabres (6-17, 5-13 NACC), who got 18 points from Alexs Manhardt, held off the visiting Regents (8-14, 7-10) after losing most of a 13-point second-half lead. Carroll 75, Augustana
70: Ben Widdes had 22 points and Kyle Keranen chipped in 20 for the host Pioneers (12-10, 7-6 CCIW), who used a late 11-4 run to stun the Vikings (18-5, 11-3) in Waukesha. Illinois Wesleyan 90, Carthage 78: Mike Stevenson scored 27 points for the Red Men (15-7, 8-5), but the visiting Titans (16-6, 8-5) proved to be too strong. Trinity International 84, Cardinal Stritch 83:
The Wolves (13-15, 9-9 CCAC) fell when Henry French hit two free throws with 3 seconds remaining for the Trojans (24-4, 17-2) in Deerfield, Ill.