Titans Defeat Falcons To Finish Second In WIAC Race

Alex Olson led all players with 17 points and added a team-leading eight rebounds as UW-Oshkosh rode a hot-shooting second half to a 65-62 victory over UW-River Falls in a men's basketball contest held Saturday (Feb. 20) in Kolf Sports Center.

The triumph in the regular-season finale allowed UW-Oshkosh (16-9, 9-5 WIAC) to share second place in the league standings with UW-River Falls (15-10, 9-5 WIAC) and UW-Eau Claire (16-9, 9-5). The conference finish is the highest for the Titans since 2007, when they also finished second.

With the help of winning a tiebreaker, UW-Oshkosh will receive a bye and be the second seed for the six-team WIAC Championship that commences on Wednesday (Feb. 24) with a pair of first-round matchups. Opening round games have third-seeded UW-Eau Claire hosting sixth-seeded UW-Stevens Point (14-11, 7-7 WIAC) and fourth-seeded UW-River Falls hosting fifth-seeded UW-Whitewater (16-9, 7-7).

UW-La Crosse (16-9, 10-4 WIAC), which won its first league title since 1965, earned the top seed as the outright conference champion. The Eagles will host the lowest remaining seed on Friday (Feb. 26), while the Titans will welcome the highest remaining seed to Albee Hall.

The semifinal winners will square off at the highest remaining seed next Sunday (Feb. 28) for the WIAC's automatic berth into the 62-team NCAA Division III Championship.

UW-Oshkosh shot 45.5 percent (25-55) from the field against UW-River Falls, including 57.7 percent (15-26) in the second half. The Titans, who made 7 of 23 shots (30.4 percent) from 3-point range and 8 of 12 (66.7 percent) free throws, held advantages in assists (10-9) and turnovers (12-7).

Olson, who was starting his 79th game for the Titans, connected on 6 of 12 shots from the floor, including 2 of 4 from 3-point range.

Ben Boots added 14 points, a game-best five assists and two steals for UW-Oshkosh. He tallied 12 points on 5 of 6 shooting during the second half.

UW-Oshkosh took its first lead of the game at 46-45 on a layup by Boots with 12:35 remaining and never relinquished the advantage. The Titans capped a string of 11 unanswered points during a span of three minutes on a 3-pointer by Olson for a 51-45 advantage at the 11:04 mark.

A 3-pointer by Charlie Noone extended UW-Oshkosh's lead to 59-51 with 5:47 left, and a layup by Taylor Jansen matched the Titans' largest advantage of nine points at 65-56 with 3:25 remaining.

The Falcons held the Titans scoreless for the remainder of the contest, cutting their deficit to 65-62 with 62 seconds to play.

With a chance for a two-possession lead, Boots, the WIAC's leading free throw shooter at 83.7 percent, missed the front end of a one-and-one bonus free throw with 12 ticks left.

The Falcons had three chances at a potential tying 3-pointer in the final 22 seconds, including two by WIAC leading scorer Jon Christensen. A heave from beyond half court fell far short at the buzzer.

UW-River Falls concluded the game shooting 40 percent (22-55) from the field, 26.3 percent (5-19) from beyond the 3-point arc and 65 percent (13-20) from the free throw line. The Falcons owned a 40-31 rebounding advantage.

Christensen, who entered averaging 17.8 points per contest, ended the game with 15 points and 12 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season. He had 12 points and nine rebounds in the first half, but was held without a field goal on seven shots from the floor during the second period.

CJ Lewis had 14 points for the Falcons, who also received 12 points from Grant Erickson and 10 from Jack Herum.

Christensen scored on the game's first possession, and UW-River Falls opened its largest lead of 13 points at 23-10 with just under 12 minutes left in the first half. A layup by Max Schebel cut the Titans' deficit to 31-28, but Erickson drove the length of the floor for a layup at the halftime buzzer to provide the Falcons with a 33-28 lead at intermission.