Green Knights Conquer Titans In Season Opener
Mitchell Reinthaler had a career-best 19 points and 10 rebounds as St. Norbert College defeated the nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh men's basketball team, 68-62, in the season opener for both teams on Monday (Nov. 16) in De Pere.
Reinthaler, who surpassed his previous highs of seven points and three rebounds, converted 5 of 9 shots from the field and 9 of 12 attempts from the free throw line.
D.J. DeValk added 18 points and Terrance Garner 11 for the Green Knights, who improved to 50-4 in their last 54 games.
St. Norbert College (1-0) held a 42-31 advantage in rebounds and limited UW-Oshkosh to 26.9 percent (7-26) shooting from the field during the second half after the Titans connected on 48 percent (12-25) during the opening period.
The Green Knights jumped out to an 18-9 lead on a 3-pointer by Seth Taylor at the 11:03 mark of the opening period, but the Titans closed the half with a 23-12 run for a 32-30 advantage at the intermission.
A layup by Ben Boots trimmed UW-Oshkosh's deficit to 21-19 with just less than seven minutes left in the first half. Three consecutive baskets by the Titans, including two by Alex Olson, gave UW-Oshkosh its first lead of the contest at 25-23 with 3:26 remaining in the opening period.
A 3-pointer by Olson gave UW-Oshkosh its largest lead of the game at 32-28 with 65 seconds to go in the period, but two free throws by Reinthaler cut the Titans' advantage to 32-30 at the break.
St. Norbert College reclaimed the lead for good at 36-34 on a 3-pointer by Ben Bobinski with 18:42 remaining. His long-range jumper ignited an 11-0 run that gave the Green Knights a 44-34 lead with 16:42 left.
UW-Oshkosh answered with six straight points to make it 48-44 following a layup by Charlie Noone with 11:41 to go, and a Noone free throw whittled the Green Knights' lead to 54-52 with 4:44 left.
Max Schebel split a pair of free throws to get the Titans within 58-55 with 3:13 remaining, but both teams went scoreless for more than two minutes until Reinthaler converted a layup for a 60-55 lead with 59 ticks left. The Green Knights secured the victory by making 8 of 10 free throws during the last 34 seconds.
Olson led the Titans with 17 points.
Ben Boots added 10 points for UW-Oshkosh, which also received nine points from Taylor Jansen and eight apiece from Kyle Bolger and Noone. AJ Mueller and Noone both notched a team-high five rebounds.
UW-Oshkosh finished the contest shooting 37.3 percent (19-51) from the field and 72 percent (18-25) from the free throw line. The Titans made 6 of 19 3-point shots (31.6 percent).
St. Norbert College, which posted its eighth straight win over UW-Oshkosh, shot 41.4 percent (24-58) from the field and 76.2 percent (16-21) from the charity stripe. The Green Knights were 4 of 19 shooting (21.1 percent) beyond the 3-point arc.
UW-Oshkosh (0-1), ranked 23rd in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, begins a three-game home stand this weekend when it hosts Coe College (Iowa) on Friday (Nov. 20) and Wisconsin Lutheran College on Saturday (Nov. 21).