After knocking off Eau Claire North at home on Friday, Jan. 6, the River Falls High School boys basketball team extended its winning streak to four games by going on the road for the latter half of a back-to-back and defeating Rice Lake 59-44 the following day.

For River Falls head coach Zac Campbell, the four-game heater is a reflection of his roster’s commitment to the process. Perhaps nothing has contributed more to the chain of wins than his team’s lack of turnovers, which plagued the Wildcats through the first six games of the season.

In those first six games, River Falls averaged nearly 20 turnovers a game, a figure that would derail even the most talented rosters in the state. Since then, the Wildcats are averaging approximately 11 turnovers per game; those extra possessions have turned into points, which have transformed losses into wins.

“We are still inconsistent in many areas, but they have opened up their ceiling of play allowing us to play at higher levels in spurts,” Campbell said of his roster. “During this win streak, we are averaging 11 fewer turnovers a game than the four-game span to start the year and we are rebounding at a high level. Without knowing complete numbers we are essentially giving ourselves an extra 15 possessions or so a game.” Although Eau Claire North went into Friday night’s contest with a 1-9 overall record, the Huskies pride themselves on shooting it well from beyond the three-point line, which means that North could get hot on any given night.

Because of that, coach Campbell spent the week preparing his players to prevent North from getting into their three-point action. His adjustments must have worked wonders, as River Falls held North to 34 total points on a pedestrian 4-16 from beyond the arc. The Wildcats cruised to a 65-34 victory on Friday night.

“Our goal was to not allow them to get into their action as they can be difficult to defend and they put a lot of pressure on the threepoint line,” Campbell said. “As coaches, we set game plans and drill to what we hope to accomplish but, not all groups are willing to buy in and sacrifice certain areas of their game, that’s not the case with this group. We have individuals filling roles outside of what they thought they would this season and they are doing a great job helping us win games in those roles.”

After beating North, River Falls went into the grueling portion of a back-to-back on the road against a Rice Lake team that went into Saturday’s game with a 7-3 overall record. According to coach Campbell, Rice Lake is one of the harder places to play in the Big Rivers Conference.

River Falls junior guard Joey Butz had no problem acclimating to Rice Lake’s environment. Butz finished with 25 points on 9-14 shooting from the floor including 5-8 from downtown. His 25 led all scorers on Saturday afternoon.

With Butz’s highly efficient scoring performance paired with only 10 total turnovers, compared to Rice Lake’s 20, River Falls secured the 59-44 victory to extend the winning streak to four games. Coach Campbell spoke about the quality of the win, especially in the latter half of a back-to-back on the road.

“Traveling to Rice Lake is never easy. They have strong community support and have what may end up being the conference player of the year on their team,” Campbell said. “For our guys to do what they did on the back end of a doubleheader (for both teams) speaks volumes for their growth. We didn’t really shoot the ball well this past weekend and to have the two performances we had Friday and Saturday shows how well the boys are doing all the other things that win you basketball games.”

With the extended winning streak, River Falls improved to 7-4 overall and 3-3 in Big Rivers Conference games. Perhaps no aspect of the chain of victories is more impressive than the fact that the Wildcats have done nearly all of it on the road.

“We have improved and still have a ways to go so we can’t feel comfortable, but we do feel proud about the turnaround we’ve made from the early season,” Campbell said. “We have played six of our last seven on the road and won five of those six games. It’s hard to win on the road but these boys have proven the toughness it takes to win when you are in unfamiliar territory.”

River Falls is scheduled to be back in action on Tuesday, Jan. 10, on the road against La Crosse Logan. That game is slated to begin at 7:15 p.m.

River Falls junior guard Joey Butz makes a three-point from the top of the key during a game earlier this season. Butz had a game-high 25 points in the 59-44 win over Rice Lake on Saturday afternoon. Photo by Reagan Hoverman