Blue Devils Burn Titans In Second Half

UW-Stout outshot UW-Oshkosh, 65 percent to 22 percent, in the second half as it notched a 70-48 men's basketball victory over the Titans on Saturday (Feb. 6) in Menomonie.

During the closing 20 minutes, UW-Stout buried 15-of-23 (65.2 percent) shots from the field, including 4-of-5 attempts behind the three-point arc. UW-Oshkosh made just 5-of-23 (21.7 percent) shots from the field as it was outscored in the period, 44-20.

UW-Stout (12-9/7-6 WIAC) scored nine of the first 11 points of the second half to overcome a 28-26 halftime deficit. Mahlon Thomas tallied a jumper and a dunk, while Jordan Nelson put his team ahead for good with a lay-up. Eric Hostetter followed with two three-point baskets and a free throw to give the Blue Devils a 39-34 advantage with 14:16 to play.

UW-Oshkosh (9-12/4-9 WIAC) pulled within 39-38 on a pair of free throws by Jade Royston (Fr. • Wisconsin Dells). The game's next nine points went to UW-Stout, including a three-point play and lay-up by Jerrod Buchholtz. Nelson's bucket in the paint gave the Blue Devils a 48-38 lead with 7:39 left.

UW-Stout extended its scoring run to 28-5 on six points by Nelson, five by Hostetter and four by both Thomas and Erik Olson. The scoring spree gave the Blue Devils a 67-43 lead with 1:59 remaining.

Neither team had its offense going until midway through the first half. Cory Wittwer (Jr. • Fall Creek) converted a shot from behind the three-point arc to tie the score at 8. UW-Stout then had four different players score points as it took a 17-14 lead with 6:43 to go in the opening period.

UW-Oshkosh put together a 14-5 scoring run to go ahead, 28-22, with 2:02 left before the break. After a lay-up by John Flanigan (So. • Oshkosh), Wittwer gave the Titans their six-point cushion by swishing a deep three-point shot. Back-to-back baskets by Grant Franzen cut UW-Stout's deficit to two points at intermission.

Marsh tallied eight points to move into fifth place on UW-Oshkosh's career scoring list with 1,694 points. He also grabbed 10 rebounds and dished off two assists.

The Titans also received nine points and seven rebounds from Flanigan and eight points from both Wittwer and Paul Wojahn (Fr. • Oshkosh). It was the first time since the final game of the 1984-85 season, a span of 690 contests, that UW-Oshkosh failed to own a double-figure scorer.

Hostetter led UW-Stout with 18 points. Thomas tacked on 13 points and five rebounds, while Nelson contributed 10 points for the Blue Devils.

UW-Oshkosh, which defeated UW-Stout, 87-75, on Jan. 16, shot a season-low 27.8 percent (15-54) from the field. The Titans also shot 19.2 percent (5-26) behind the three-point line and 81.3 percent (13-16) from the free-throw stripe.

Committing just six turnovers, UW-Stout hit 56.5 percent (26-46) of its shots from the field and 86.7 percent (13-15) of its tosses from the free-throw line. The Blue Devils made 5-of-12 (41.7 percent) three-point shots.

UW-Oshkosh, which committed 19 turnovers, compiled a 36-23 rebounding advantage.

The Titans aim for a victorious performance at UW-La Crosse on Wednesday (Feb. 10).