Johnson finished the game with 10 boards, which led all players that afternoon. Part of River Falls’ ability to weather that big run in the second half was their success on the glass, most of which came from sophomore center Eli Johnson. It’s about weathering runs and we did that over the last five or six minutes.” “Then they hit a shot or two and it provided a jolt of energy for them. “It was a bunch of runs and we felt like we came out and hit a shot or two and it provided a jolt of energy for us,” Campbell said. Coach Campbell spoke about that second half which was essentially all big scoring runs. River Falls responded with a 12-2 run of its own, which culminated in a Butz corner three-pointer to make it a 50-41 game in favor of the Wildcats. The Warriors responded with a 15-4 run over the next five minutes that culminated in a corner three-pointer by senior Vince Hanz that gave Wausau West a 39-38 lead with just over eight minutes to play. Throughout the first five minutes of the second frame, River Falls senior guard Joey Butz hit a pair of three-pointers to help the Wildcats build a 34-24 lead with 13 minutes to play. Although River Falls ultimately secured the 59-46 victory, the Wildcats reverted to more frequent turnovers and spotty threepoint shooting against the Warriors.Īfter a tough, defensive first 18 minutes of action, River Falls clung to a 22-17 lead going into the second half. We locked them down, they got frustrated and we played with a whole lot of confidence offensively.”Īfter River Falls’ win on day one, the Wildcats returned for a day two matchup with the Wausau West Warriors on Wednesday afternoon. “We took (Tomah) completely out of rhythm yesterday. “We have enough guys that can shoot it and do things that when we give ourselves those possessions rather than turn them over, we can put up numbers like 75 and 80,” Campbell said. In the last three games, that figure has risen to nearly 40%, which has completely changed the Wildcats’ offensive production. Through the first three weeks of the season, River Falls shot approximately 20% from deep. Those extra offensive possessions have coincided with the Wildcats shooting it better from deep. River Falls has significantly reduced its turnovers throughout the last two weeks, which has led to more offensive opportunities and more overall points. Our last two against Chippewa and Tomah we turned it over a combined 14 times.” “Previously, our lowest turnover game was 16 against Hudson.

“It was our best game of the year against a Tomah team that isn’t bad,” Campbell said. The Wildcats shot 56% from the floor and 39% from three, and only recorded eight turnovers in the 75-34 blowout win. While River Falls played exceptional defense throughout the entire 36 minutes of action, they also shot it efficiently and rarely turned it over. With just under 16 minutes remaining in regulation, the aforementioned Carufel flew into a passing lane, picked the ball off, and drove down for an uncontested layup to make it a 25-point lead, 39-14. The Wildcats’ suffocating defense continued into the second half. Senior Aidan Carufel hit a couple of deep three-pointers en route to a 31-13 lead going into the halftime intermission. River Falls regularly turned great defense into easy transition offense throughout the first half. However, with nine minutes to play in the first half, River Falls had limited Tomah to five total points while building a double-digit lead. See RF BBB, Page B-6 The Tomah Timberwolves averaged just over 56 points per game going into the first contest of the Showcase against River Falls. “I really think our guys embraced that yesterday and on the court today.” “When we left the Chippewa locker room the first thing we said was, ‘We’re going 2-0 in Menomonie and we will be the hardest working and toughest team there,”’ Campbell recalled. The Wildcats did exactly that with a 75-34 win against Tomah on Tuesday, Dec, 27, and a 59-46 victory over Wausau West on Wednesday, Dec. After the River Falls High School boys basketball team lost an 85-81 shootout on the road against Chippewa Falls, head coach Zac Campbell and the Wildcats’ roster had a crucial postgame meeting in the locker room about the upcoming Menomonie Holiday Showcase.Īfter that painful overtime loss, Campbell and the boys decided they were going to sweep through the Menomonie Holiday Showcase.

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