Titans Outduel Vikings From Start To Finish

A trio of three-point baskets from Cory Wittwer (Jr. • Fall Creek) made sure that the UW-Oshkosh basketball team never trailed during its 66-55 victory over Lawrence University on Thursday (Nov. 19) in Appleton.

Wittwer, who finished with 18 points, buried a long-range jumper right after the Titans' (1-1) lead shrunk to 45-44 with 8:16 remaining. UW-Oshkosh then rattled off seven unanswered points, including back-to-back lay-ups from Paul Wojahn (Fr. • Oshkosh), to go ahead, 56-46, with 1:41 on the clock.

The Titans, who entered the game ranked 24th in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, got a D.J. Marsh (Sr. • Bayside) lay-up 21 seconds into play and never looked back. Triples by Andy Kretsch (Jr. • Manitowoc) and Greg Schrimpf (So. • Manitowoc) extended UW-Oshkosh's advantage to 12-4 with 10:25 left in the opening period.

Lawrence University (1-1) came back with eight of the next 10 points, including a three-point play from Jamie DeMatthew and a jumper by John Dekker to make it a two-point margin (14-12) at the 8:12 mark.

Wittwer drilled two attempts from beyond the arc during a 90-second span late in the half to put the Titans up, 25-18. Another three-point bucket from Schrimpf with 1:44 left in the half allowed UW-Oshkosh to take a 32-25 lead to intermission.

A pair lay-ups and a tip-in by Marsh put his team ahead, 43-34, before the Vikings made their final run. DeMatthew capped their 10-2 scoring spurt with four free throws to cut Lawrence University's deficit to 45-44.

Marsh, who topped all players with 19 points and 10 rebounds, converted seven free throws late to seal the game. He added four steals for UW-Oshkosh, which shot 37 percent from the field (22-60), 38 percent from three-point land (6-16) and 16-of-26 at the charity stripe (62 percent).

Tyler Crisman paced the Vikings with 14 points, while DeMatthew tallied 12 points, Dekker 10 points and Erik Borresen eight rebounds. Lawrence University also struggled putting the ball in the hoop, finishing with 33 percent shooting (17-51), 29 percent long-range accuracy (6-21) and 60 percent marksmanship (15-25) at the free-throw line.

UW-Oshkosh turned the ball over just eight times as it defeated Lawrence University for the second straight meeting. The Titans also posted a 47-33 rebounding edge over the Vikings, who committed 12 giveaways in the game.

UW-Oshkosh is off until it hosts Finlandia University (Mich.) on Wednesday (Nov. 25).