Defending National Champion Beats Titans At Foul Line

Defending national champion UW-Whitewater held a 20-point advantage in free throws during its 75-58 men's basketball win over UW-Oshkosh on Wednesday (Feb. 13) in Kolf Sports Center.

UW-Whitewater (20-4, 12-3 WIAC), ranked 14th by D3hoops.com, converted 26-of-32 free throws (81 percent) while posting a 37-25 advantage in rebounds.

KJ Evans scored 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Warhawks. UW-Whitewater also received 11 points each from Eric Bryson, Darnell Harris, Patrick Souter and Quardell Young. Young also tallied eight rebounds, four steals and three assists.

UW-Oshkosh's Alex Olson (Fr. • Brookfield) came off the bench to total 14 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. The Titans obtained 10 points, three rebounds and three steals from Andre Wallace (Fr. • Sun Prairie) and eight points from Jade Royston (Jr. • Wisconsin Dells).

UW-Oshkosh (7-17, 2-13 WIAC) led for most of the first half. The Titans went ahead 17-12 following a three-point play by Josh Hopfensperger (So. • Neenah) with 9:37 left in the opening period and 21-16 after a lay-up by Paul Volkman (So. • Arlington Heights, Ill.) with 7:28 remaining.

UW-Whitewater closed the half with a 16-4 scoring run, including a three-pointer, lay-up and free throw by Souter in the final 4:16. The Warhawks took a 32-25 lead to intermission.

Wallace made four inside shots early in the second half to pull the Titans within 39-35. UW-Whitewater then scored eight straight points, including four from Evans, to build a 50-38 lead.

UW-Oshkosh scored 14 of the next 21 points to cut its deficit to 59-52. The Warhawks then scored four unanswered points to make the score 63-52 with 4:44 left. UW-Whitewater held off UW-Oshkosh by making 10 free throws the rest of the way.

UW-Oshkosh registered shooting percentages of 45 (24-53) from the field, 67 (6-9) from the free throw line and 33 (4-12) behind the three-point arc. The Titans committed 15 turnovers.

UW-Whitewater made 22-of-49 shots (45 percent) from the field, including 5-of-13 attempts (39 percent) beyond the arc. The Warhawks also turned the ball over 15 times.

The Titans conclude their season at UW-Stout on Saturday (Feb. 16).