Titans Never Trail In Triumph Over Cardinals

Chad Mathwig (Fr. • New Berlin) and Jade Royston (So. • Wisconsin Dells) combined for 45 points and 16 rebounds as UW-Oshkosh posted a 91-79 men's basketball victory over Saint Mary's University (Minn.) on Friday (Nov. 25) in Kolf Sports Center.

Royston's 21 points and eight rebounds were both career-bests, and he iced the game during the final 73 seconds. After seeing UW-Oshkosh's lead cut to 79-75, Royston drained his fifth three-pointer of the contest. He then grabbed the ensuing rebound and took it coast-to-coast for a lay-up to give the Titans an 84-75 cushion with 50 seconds left.

Mathwig was a dominant presence inside, totaling 24 points and eight rebounds for career highs. He made 7-of-8 shots from the field and 10-of-12 attempts from the free-throw line.

UW-Oshkosh (1-2) had three others contribute solid scoring, John Flanigan (Sr. • Oshkosh) with 16 points, Dylan Wurtz (So. • Kimberly) with 10 and Cory Nickel (So. • Waupun) with nine.

Both teams found the basket early, as the teams combined for five three-pointers in a two-minute span. LaMonte Hall nailed a pair of long-range shots for St. Mary's University (0-3), while Royston connected twice from downtown to give UW-Oshkosh a 12-8 lead. Wurtz extended the Titans' advantage to 19-10 with a lay-up at the 13:17 mark.

A deep jumper by Pat Freeman brought the Cardinals within 19-17. Mathwig then responded with a three-point play and a bucket in the paint to help UW-Oshkosh go ahead, 24-19. Consecutive hoops by Martell Hutchinson (Jr. • Milwaukee) helped the Titans stretch their lead to 34-25 with 4:51 left in the first half.

UW-Oshkosh held a 44-36 edge at halftime and got 12 points by Flanigan to go up 59-46 with 15:13 remaining. The margin stayed in double digits until the Cardinals cut their deficit to 73-64 with 7:32 to play. UW-Oshkosh extended its lead to 79-68, but Saint Mary's University counted the next seven points to make it 79-75 with 1:46 left.

The Titans shot extremely well behind the three-point arc, sinking 11-of-23 attempts (47.8 percent). UW-Oshkosh also shot 52.5 percent (31-59) from the field and 90 percent (18-20) from the free-throw line. The Titans committed just eight turnovers and won the rebounding battle, 34-24.

Saint Mary's University was led by the 24 points and five rebounds of Michael Burfeind, 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists of Freeman and the 10 points, seven assists and four rebounds of Evan Pederson.

The Cardinals, who gave the ball away only three times, shot 45 percent (23-51) from the field. Saint Mary's University also shot 45.5 percent (5-11) from three-point range and 87.5 percent (28-32) from the charity stripe.

UW-Oshkosh meets up with Rockford College (Ill.) on Saturday (Nov. 26) in Kolf Sports Center.