Overtime Victory Gives Titans Sixth Win In Seven Games
Max Schebel poured in a career-best 22 points to lead the UW-Oshkosh men's basketball team to 67-61 win in overtime over UW-La Crosse on Wednesday (Jan. 21) in Kolf Sports Center.
Schebel made 8 of 11 shots from the floor and 6 of 11 free throws while tying a season-high with seven rebounds in his second start of the season.
The Titans (11-6, 5-3 WIAC) snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Eagles (7-10, 2-6 WIAC) and remained in a tie for third place in the league standings while UW-La Crosse stayed tied for seventh. UW-Oshkosh, which sports a 2-0 record in overtime contests this season, has won six of its last seven games.
UW-Oshkosh clung to a 54-53 lead with 3:56 left in regulation until UW-La Crosse took its first lead of the half, 55-54, on a layup by Jared Staege with 50 seconds to go. Schebel was fouled on the Titans' next possession and split to free throws to even the score at 55 with 29 seconds to play. Following a timeout by UW-La Crosse, the Titan defense forced a missed jumper with three seconds remaining, and UW-Oshkosh's shot from just inside midcourt was off the mark at the buzzer.
A layup by Schebel opened the scoring in overtime with 4:04 to go, but Cale Zuiker quickly answered with a 3-pointer for the Eagles at the 3:52 mark. UW-Oshkosh got two offensive rebounds on the next possession, which culminated in a layup by AJ Mueller that gave the Titans a 59-58 lead with 3:02 left.
UW-La Crosse reclaimed a 60-59 edge on a Trent Schmidt layup at the 2:16 mark, but UW-Oshkosh sealed the win by closing the contest with an 8-1 run on 8-for-8 shooting from the free throw line.
Kyle Bolger was fouled after grabbing an offensive rebound and converted two from the foul line to put UW-Oshkosh ahead, 63-60, with 54 second remaining. UW-La Crosse converted 1 of 2 from the line to pull within 63-61 with 44 seconds to go, but Mueller's fourth point in overtime from the charity stripe extended the Titan lead to 65-61 with 22 seconds left. Schebel rebounded a missed layup by the Eagles, who missed their final three attempts from the floor, with 13 second remaining and capped the scoring with two free throws.
UW-Oshkosh received 15 points from Alex Olson, 12 from Mueller and 11 from Bolger.
The Titans shot 44.2 percent (23-52) from the floor, 30.8 percent (4-13) from behind the 3-point arc and 68 percent (17-25) from the free throw. UW-Oshkosh outrebounded UW-La Crosse, 36-30, and held a 12-14 edge in turnovers.
UW-Oshkosh raced out to a 10-4 advantage, but UW-La Crosse scored eight unanswered points to takes its first lead of the game at 12-10 with 10:50 left in the first half. The Titans responded with eight straight points of their own to reclaim a 20-12 lead at the 9:04 mark. Trailing 27-20 with 1:51 to go, the Eagles tallied the last six points of the half to trim their deficit to 27-26 at the break.
Schebel scored the Titans' first six points of the second half, and a layup by Olson extended UW-Oshkosh's cushion to a game-best 10 points at 40-30 with 15:44 remaining in regulation. A 17-10 run by UW-La Crosse pulled the Eagles within 50-47 with 6:24 to go in the second half, but the Titans maintained a lead of at least three points until Zuiker hit two free throws to cut the Eagle deficit to 54-53 with 3:56 left.
Zuiker paced UW-La Crosse with 18 points while Staege added 13.
The Eagles connected on 43.1 percent (22-51) of their shots from the field, 43.5 percent (10-23) on 3-pointers and a season-low 46.7 percent (7-15) from the foul line. UW-La Crosse entered the game with a WIAC-leading .768 free throw percentage.
It was UW-Oshkosh's first overtime win against UW-La Crosse since a 71-68 decision in 1979.
UW-Oshkosh travels to 15th-ranked UW-Stevens Point on Saturday (Jan. 24). The Pointers defeated the Titans by an 83-57 score on Jan. 10 in Kolf Sports Center.