Titans Silenced By The Thunder

A standout defensive performance propelled Trine University (Ind.) to a 65-54 win over the UW-Oshkosh men's basketball team at the Trine University Classic on Sunday (Dec. 20) in Angola, Ind.

The Thunder limited the Titans to just 33.3 percent (20-60) shooting from the field, including 24.1 percent (7-29) from beyond the 3-points arc. UW-Oshkosh converted only 43.8 percent (7-16) of its free throw attempts.

The Titans, who had their six-game winning streak snapped, recorded season lows in all three shooting categories and points scored. UW-Oshkosh (6-3) entered the game with a .488 field goal percentage and an average of 79.5 points per contest.

Trine University (8-1), which defeated UW-Oshkosh for the first time in three meetings, shot 38.3 percent (18-47) from the floor and 74.2 percent (23-31) from the charity stripe to extend its winning streak to six games.

Will Dixon had a game-high 19 points and eight rebounds for the Thunder, while Jared Holmquist totaled 18 points and nine rebounds.

UW-Oshkosh tallied the first basket of the game, but Dixon answered with a 3-pointer on Trine University's opening possession and the Thunder never trailed for the last 39:30 of the contest.

The Thunder made four of its first five 3-point shots and opened up a 12-6 lead with 14 minutes remaining in the first half. A 3-pointer by UW-Oshkosh's Charlie Noone tied the score at 26 with 2:53 left in the opening period, but a jumper by Holmquist provided Trine University with a 28-26 edge at intermission.

UW-Oshkosh knotted the score at 28 on a layup by AJ Mueller with 18:32 left, but those were the only points the Titans would register during a stretch of nearly 11 minutes that spanned both halves. Trine University strung together 11 straight points, and the Titans missed 11 of 12 shots from the floor before Nick Olson recorded his first career 3-pointer to trim the UW-Oshkosh deficit to 39-31 with 12 minutes to play.

Dixon and Holmquist combined to score the next six points to extend the Thunder lead to 45-31 midway through the second half before the Titans responded with six consecutive points to pull within 45-37 on a 3-pointer by Noone at the 7:07 mark.

Trine University then held UW-Oshkosh scoreless for more than three minutes until a free throw by Alex Olson made the score 52-38 with 3:38 to go.

A jumper by Noone trimmed the Thunder lead to 56-47 with just under two minutes remaining, but Dixon answered with a layup and Trine University closed out the victory by going 7-for-8 from the free throw line during the last 66 seconds.

Noone had 17 points and seven rebounds for the Titans, who also received 14 points, five rebounds and five assists from Alex Olson, and five points and a team-high eight boards from Nick Olson.

Trine University concluded its own tournament with a 2-0 record. UW-Oshkosh and Millikin University (Ill.) had a 1-1 mark, while Adrian College (Mich.) went 0-2. The Titans opened the event with a 70-61 win over Adrian College on Saturday (Dec. 19).

UW-Oshkosh travels to Wisconsin Dells to play Augustana College (Ill.) on Dec. 29 and Carroll University on Dec. 30. Augustana College is the top-ranked team in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com.