ST. PAUL, MINN. – The University of Northwestern men's basketball team competed in a non-conference competition against the No.8 ranked University of Wisconsin-River Falls [8-1] Saturday afternoon inside the Ericksen Center. In what was a hard-fought match, the Eagles came up short to the visiting Falcons, 69-65. With the loss, the squad drops to 2-7 on the season.

UNW took the court ready to battle, racking up a strong 13-6 advantage by the 14:00 mark on the first half. UWRF kept up the fight, as they closely trailed the Eagles for the remainder of the period.

Taking a well-earned 41-26 lead into the locker room, the Eagles closed the first frame with an impressive 52.9 shooting percentage from the hardwood – going 18-for-34 on field goal attempts – to outshine the Falcon's 38.4 shooting percentage from the floor. On the half, the purple and gold also edged the visiting team in rebounds, 17-16.

Using a full court press, the Falcons went to work in the second half to cut the Eagles lead to five [52-47] with just under 10 minutes left to play. Through two lead changes on the next nine minutes, the non-conference battle came down to the wire. Trailing with 54 seconds to go in regulation, Sophomore Taylor Slagter (Roseland, Minn./CMCS)'s big three brought the Eagles within two [67-65]. With a chance to win it, Northwestern was unable to capitalize, allowing UW-River Falls to secure the win, 69-65.

Concluding the afternoon contest, UNW shot 44.3 percent from the field, while UWRF finished the game by shooting 44.4 percent from the floor.

UNW's Tanner Youngberg (Pocahontas, Iowa/Pocahontas Area) put together two strong quarters to finish with a game-high 13 points for the Eagles, going 6-for-8 from the hardwood. The sophomore guard also topped off the day's competition with eight rebounds, one assist, and four steals. Teammates Isaiah Rahier (Northome, Minn./Northome) [11 pts] and Slagter [12pts] also performed well, as they both ended the game in double digits. Slagter also grabbed eight boards and totaled three blocks, while Rahier added five assists, one rebound, and one steal to his stat line.

As a team, the Eagles also collected 18 points off the bench, grabbed 28 boards [10 OFF, 18 DEF], tallied 12 assists, and snatched seven steals.

Following the holiday break, the squad will travel east across the border for a two-day tournament at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. For more information, fans can visit www.unweagles.com.