Titans Earn Regular-Season Sweep Of Pioneers
Charlie Noone led four Titans in double figures with 17 points as the UW-Oshkosh men's basketball team defeated UW-Platteville, 79-72, on Wednesday (Feb. 3) in Kolf Sports Center.
Noone connected on four of UW-Oshkosh's 11 3-pointers and ended the contest 6 of 10 shooting from the floor.
UW-Oshkosh also received 14 points from Alex Olson and season highs of 13 points from AJ Mueller and 11 from Brett Wittchow. Wittchow paced the Titans with five rebounds, while Olson had a team-leading three assists and Mueller three steals.
The Titans (12-8, 5-4 WIAC) swept the regular-season series from UW-Platteville for the first time since the 2006-07 campaign. UW-Oshkosh ousted the Pioneers, 86-81, on Jan. 9 in Platteville.
UW-Oshkosh ended the game shooting 53.6 percent (30-56) from the field, including 50 percent (11-22) from behind the 3-point line. The Titans held advantages in rebounds (31-26), turnovers (14-11) and steals (10-7).
Neither team led by more than four points during the first half. A 3-pointer by Ben Boots gave the Titans a 12-8 edge with 12:16 to play in the opening period, while UW-Platteville led, 23-19, at the 6:35 mark.
The first period featured six ties and 13 lead changes. The Pioneers knotted the score at 31 on a layup by Boston Johnson with 17 seconds left in the first half and reclaimed a 33-31 lead on a basket by Colin Connelly at the buzzer.
UW-Platteville shot 56 percent (14-25) from the floor during the opening period, but just 12.5 percent (1-8) from 3-point range. UW-Oshkosh mustered a .393 (11-28) field goal percentage in the first half, but converted 53.8 percent (7-13) from long range.
The Titans regained a 38-37 lead on a three-point play by Noone with 17:39 remaining and never trailed for the remainder of the game.
A 3-pointer by Kyle Beyak pushed the Titan lead to 45-39 at the 15:54 mark, but the Pioneers cut their deficit to 45-44 on a 3-pointer by Matt Oestreich with just under 15 minutes to play.
UW-Oshkosh responded with a 15-4 scoring run during a span of just over four minutes that increased its lead to 60-48 with 10:51 left. Mueller started the run with a basket in the paint, and Olson capped it with consecutive layups.
UW-Platteville (10-10, 4-5 WIAC) answered with four quick 3-pointers to tie the score at 60. Robert Duax hit a pair of long-range jumpers during the spree, while Peyton River and Oestreich both added one apiece.
A jumper by Beyak ended the UW-Platteville run and put the Titans ahead for good at 62-60 with eight minutes to play. A three-point play by Wittchow increased the UW-Oshkosh advantage to 70-64 at the 5:35 mark, but the Pioneers cut their deficit to 72-70 on a layup by Duax with just under three minutes remaining.
Mueller drove the lane for a basket and Olson put the game away with a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give UW-Oshkosh a 77-70 advantage with 39 seconds left.
UW-Platteville, which matched its season high by shooting 53.7 percent (29-54) from the floor, was held to two points during the final 2:57.
Oestreich led all players with 18 points. The Pioneers also received 14 points and four assists from Duax, 13 points and four rebounds from Dan Lowe, six points and seven rebounds from Johnson and six points and seven rebounds from Cory Vaassen.
UW-Oshkosh travels to UW-Stout on Saturday (Feb. 6). The Titans downed the Blue Devils, 67-42, on Jan. 23 in Oshkosh.