Titans Freeze Lakers To End Season

John Flanigan (Jr. • Oshkosh) sparked a 14-0 scoring run in the second half to give UW-Oshkosh an 88-69 men's basketball win over Silver Lake College on Saturday (Feb. 19) in Manitowoc.

Leading 57-54 midway through the closing period, the Titans (11-14) got a three-point play from Flanigan. He then added two free throws to go up by six. Brian Washington (So. • Waukesha) marked four consecutive points later on to give his squad a 71-54 cushion with 4:26 remaining.

With the victory, Ted Van Dellen moved into fifth place in WIAC history with 354 coaching wins. He moved past UW-Platteville's Bo Ryan (1985-99) and now holds a 354-204 mark in 21 seasons. The Titans have qualified for the NCAA Division III Championship five times under Van Dellen, including an Elite Eight finish in 2003 and a Sweet Sixteen finish in 2002.

Flanigan posted his fourth double-double of the year with his game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds. The Titans also used 18 points and three assists from Paul Wojahn (So. • Oshkosh), in addition to 14 points and nine boards by Washington. UW-Oshkosh thrived on the glass, earning a 41-18 rebounding advantage.

Silver Lake College (7-18) made just one field goal in the opening 11 minutes, as the Titan defense forced 1-of-12 shooting. Wojahn recorded two lay-ins midway through the first half, while Dylan Wurtz (Fr. • Kimberly) knocked down a three-pointer to put UW-Oshkosh up, 13-5.

The margin shifted between four and 10 points for the remainder of the period. The Titans tallied six straight points, including four by Flanigan, at the charity stripe to make it 21-11. Dwight Weathers booked a lay-in and three foul shots to pull the Lakers within 31-25 at intermission.

Zak Zablocki led a Silver Lake charge after halftime. He finished off a three-point play, along with two hoops in the paint, to tie the contest at 44 with 12:48 left. Nick Spencer and Deandre Ueal also connected from downtown during the Lakers' 12-5 comeback spurt.

UW-Oshkosh regained the lead with a Nate Wara (So. • Oshkosh) lay-up and extended the cushion with hoops by four different players. Greg Schrimpf (Jr. • Manitowoc) splashed a three-pointer with 10:53 on the clock to put his team up, 53-46.

The Titans caught fire in the second half (63 percent ) to finish with 53 percent shooting for the game (28-53). That figure included 41 percent effectiveness from long range (7-17), in addition to 25-of-32 accuracy on free throws (78 percent).

Three UW-Oshkosh seniors played in their final collegiate game as Kyle Kannenberg (Oshkosh) made his only shot, Andy Kretsch (Manitowoc) tallied seven points and Cory Wittwer (Fall Creek) recorded four points.

Silver Lake College was led by 14 points from Zablocki, 13 from Weathers and 10 by Ueal. The Lakers committed 11 turnovers while hitting 44 percent (23-52) from the field, 38 percent from three-point land (8-21) and 75 percent at the foul line (15-20).