Knights Rally Back To Conquer Titans

Wartburg College (Iowa) claimed the Buzz Levick Tournament title with an 83-72 comeback victory over the nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh men's basketball team despite a career-high 31 points from Titan Ben Boots on Saturday (Nov. 19) in Waverly, Iowa.

The Knights erased a 43-33 halftime deficit by shooting 55.6 percent (15-27) from the field during the second half.

Nate Woeste, the tournament's most valuable player, paced host Wartburg College with 17 points, four assists and two steals. He made 4 of 7 shots from the floor, including 2 of 4 from 3-point range, and 7 of 9 attempts from the free throw line.

UW-Oshkosh (1-1), ranked 21st in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, reached the tournament's championship tilt with an 88-70 win over Iowa Wesleyan University on Friday (Nov. 18).

Wartburg College (3-0) converted 17 of 25 (68 percent) of its free throws during the second half and 19 of 29 (65.5 percent) for the game while UW-Oshkosh ended the contest 8-for-13 from the foul line.

UW-Oshkosh held slim advantages in rebounds (38-36), assists (18-17) and steals (7-3). Wartburg College owned leads in field goal percentage (49.1 to 41 percent) and turnovers (15-11).

Boots established his previous career high of 28 points during the Titans' win over Iowa Wesleyan University on Friday. On Saturday, Boots connected on 9 of 15 shots from the field, including 8 of 13 from behind the 3-point arc, and 5 of 6 attempts from the free throw line. He also contributed game highs of five assists and four steals.

Wartburg College's Jaran Sabus had 15 points and six rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench as Knights reserves outscored the Titan bench by a 41-12 count. Sabus converted 5 of 6 field goals and 5 of 7 free throws.

The Knights also received nine points on three 3-pointers from Camden Kickbush and eight apiece from Lenart Kalan and Nick Webber.

UW-Oshkosh grabbed its first lead of the game at 13-11 on a 3-pointer by Charlie Noone midway through the first half. Noone's long-range basket was part of a 25-4 scoring run by the Titans during a span of nearly seven minutes. UW-Oshkosh knocked down seven 3-pointers, including five by Noone, as it shot 9-for-13 from the field during a scoring surge that provided the Titans a 30-13 lead with 6:19 remaining in the first half.

Wartburg College scored the first 10 points of the second period to reclaim a 44-43 edge on a free throw by Sabus. UW-Oshkosh snapped its second-half scoreless drought on a layup by Jack Flynn at the 14:30 mark.

A pair of free throws by Sabus extended the Wartburg College lead to 59-49 before the Titans tallied nine unanswered points to pull within 59-58 following back-to-back 3-pointers by Boots. Another 3-pointer from Boots knotted the score at 61, but the Knights took the lead for good at 63-61 on a jumper by Webber with 6:45 to go.

Clinging to a 69-67 advantage with 4:20 remaining, Wartburg College scored 13 of the game's last 18 points to preserve the victory. The Titans missed four of its last five shots from the field and committed two turnovers during the final four minutes.

A layup by Jordan Cannon, who was named to the Buzz Levick All-Tournament Team, gave the Knights a 77-69 lead with 2:02 left. Wartburg College then made all six of its attempts from the foul line during the final minute. Cannon finished the game with 10 points and four rebounds.

Noone concluded the game with 18 points – all on 3-pointers – and added seven rebounds and two steals for UW-Oshkosh.

Flynn registered 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds for the Titans, who also received eight points and four rebounds from Brett Wittchow.

Boots and Noone were also named to the six-member All-Tournament Team.

UW-Oshkosh plays Edgewood College on Tuesday (Nov. 22) in Madison.