Titans Put Clamps On Sabres

Jade Royston (Fr. • Wisconsin Dells) turned a steal into a three-point play with 1:48 left as UW-Oshkosh took the lead and held on for a 69-63 victory over the Marian University men's basketball team on Wednesday (Dec. 30) in Fond du Lac.

Deadlocked at 61, Royston grabbed a loose ball and drove to the hoop. He was hammered as his shot fell in to put the Titans ahead. Royston knocked down the ensuing free throw, along with two more a minute later, to make it a 66-61 advantage with 41 seconds left.

D.J. Marsh (Sr. • Bayside) rattled off eight consecutive points to put UW-Oshkosh up 61-57 with 4:07 remaining. The Sabres' Logan Rankin came back with two buckets of his own to equal the score with 3:13 to play.

Marsh totaled 25 points, nine rebounds and three assists before fouling out with 2:47 to play. The Titans also received a career-high 10 points from Royston, nine points from both John Flanigan (So. • Oshkosh) and Greg Schrimpf (So. • Manitowoc) and a career-high seven points and five rebounds from Taylor Pagitt (Fr. • Edina, Minn.).

Even though there were nine ties, UW-Oshkosh led for the majority of the fast-paced, physical contest. The Titans, who last faced the Sabres during the 2004-05 season, grabbed 34 rebounds, tallied 10 steals and committed 12 turnovers.

After Marian University (4-7) marked the game's first two points, the Titans scored eight of the next 10. Marsh finished his streak of six in a row with a hook shot to put UW-Oshkosh ahead 8-4 just 3:40 into play.

Rankin, who paced the Sabres with 20 points and six rebounds, knocked down a pair of jump shots to pull his team closer. Joel Clark then drained a three-point shot with 12:33 remaining in the half to tie the game at 15.

UW-Oshkosh (6-5) shared the scoring duties as five players made a basket during their 11-2 scoring run. Schrimpf capped the rally with a three-point shot to give the Titans a 29-19 lead. The Titans led 35-25 before the Sabres cut their deficit to 37-31 at the break.

Six of the Titans' first eight points after intermission came on Marsh free throws. The Sabres then posted seven straight points, with Colin Lohenry making it a 45-44 deficit with 12 minutes to go. Marian University took leads of 51-49 and 57-55, but the latter advantage was quickly erased due to the string of points by Marsh.

Kevin Hudak dished out five assists for Marian University, which collected 24 rebounds and committed 13 turnovers. Bryan Ashbeck added nine points for the Sabres, while Lohenry tacked on eight.

UW-Oshkosh shot 57.7 percent (15-26) from the field in the first half, but just 33.3 (7-21) in the second. The Titans finished the game shooting 46.8 percent (22-47), including 37.5 (3-8) behind the three-point line. UW-Oshkosh shot 78.6 percent (22-28) from the free-throw line.

Marian University connected on 48.1 percent (25-52) of its shots from the field. The Sabres shot 30 percent (3-10) behind the three-point arc and 62.5 percent (10-16) from the free-throw line.

UW-Oshkosh resumes conference play at nationally-ranked UW-Stevens Point on Wednesday (Jan. 6).