Fourth-Ranked Warhawks Scratch Out Win Against Titans

A dynamic duel between D.J. Marsh (Sr. • Bayside) and Dustin Mitchell ended with a 62-58 overtime victory for UW-Whitewater over the UW-Oshkosh men's basketball team on Wednesday (Jan. 13) in Whitewater.

UW-Whitewater (14-1/6-0 WIAC), ranked fourth in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, held the Titans (6-8/1-5 WIAC) to one field goal in the first 4:51 of the extra session. Mitchell finished with 25 points, 12 rebounds and 11-of-13 shooting, while Marsh tallied 26 points as the only other player in double figures.

A Marsh jump shot with 2:14 remaining in the second half got UW-Oshkosh within reach before he followed it up with a three-point play to trail, 51-49. Marsh connected once again to take a 52-51 lead with just 30 seconds left. Mitchell then made a free throw to force overtime with 11 seconds to play.

Cory Wittwer (Jr. • Fall Creek) broke a 52-52 tie two minutes into the extra session with a pair of foul shots. The Warhawks then tied the game on a basket by Dupree Fletcher, who completed the three-point play for the lead with two minutes left.

UW-Whitewater added three more free throws for a four-point advantage (58-54). The Titans got within two points twice, on a Marsh jumper and on a Wittwer lay-up, but four free throws by Alex Edmunds and two by Fletcher sealed the outcome.

Hitting 50 percent of their shots (23-46), the Warhawks also received seven points from Fletcher and nine assists by Phil Negri. UW-Whitewater rounded out the night with 4-of-14 accuracy on three-pointers (28.6 percent) and 12-of-18 conversions (66.7 percent) at the charity stripe.

The Warhawks had the momentum from the start, streaking out to an 11-4 advantage. Negri tallied five early points, while Mitchell dropped in a pair of buckets for the seven-point lead with 13:49 on the clock.

Nolan Free buried a triple to make it 14-7 right after Paul Wojahn (Fr. • Oshkosh) drilled a three-pointer of his own. Mitchell accounted for two more baskets as UW-Whitewater upped its cushion to 20-13 just 4:43 before intermission.

It was a 23-19 Warhawk lead at halftime before each squad saw its top weapon come out strong in the second period. Marsh knocked down two jump shots, but Mitchell answered with a pair of field goals to make it 31-25 with 15:45 to go.

Mitchell tacked on two more baskets following a Free three-pointer as UW-Whitewater upped the margin to 39-28. The Titans didn't quit, getting long-range jumpers from Sam Mageland (Fr. • Appleton) and Wittwer to cut their deficit to three (39-36) with 10:42 left.

John Flanigan (So. • Oshkosh) stepped up in the final minutes of the contest with an inside basket and a jumper to pull within one (45-44). The Warhawks then got two points on a Mitchell drive and two more from Lucas Burns to go ahead, 49-44, with 5:08 on the second-half clock.

UW-Oshkosh hung around thanks to a 36-29 rebounding advantage, including 17-7 on the offensive end. The Titans hit 39.3 percent of their field goals (24-61), including 3-of-17 from deep (17.6 percent) and seven of their 10 tries at the foul stripe (70 percent).

Wittwer notched nine points, Flanigan contributed eight and Wojahn pitched in seven for the Titans. UW-Oshkosh, which owned a 9-14 discrepancy in turnovers, got 12 boards from Marsh.

The Titans play their first home game in nearly a month when they face UW-Stout on Saturday (Jan. 16) in Kolf Sports Center.