Blue Devils Foil Titans' Comeback Bid

John Lahti and Cory Speer combined for 37 points off the bench, lifting UW-Stout to a 74-67 win over the UW-Oshkosh men's basketball team on Saturday (Jan. 7) in Kolf Sports Center.

Lahti led all players with 20 points on 8 of 9 shooting from the field in 24 minutes played while Speer added 17 points, going 6-for-7 from the floor in 23 minutes as UW-Stout extended its winning streak to seven games.

After trailing, 66-56, with five minutes to go, UW-Oshkosh cut its deficit 68-67 on a jumper by Brett Wittchow with 51 seconds left, but Lahti answered with a jump-hook in the lane on the following possession for a 70-67 Blue Devil advantage.

UW-Oshkosh's Charlie Noone missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer with 12 seconds remaining, and the Blue Devils sealed the victory with a pair of free throws by Jacob Nordstrom with 10 seconds to play. Speer then converted a layup to provide the game's final score.

UW-Stout (11-2, 2-0 WIAC), which entered the season with a 34-game WIAC losing streak, remained tied atop the conference standings by shooting 56.5 percent (26-46) from the field, including 68.2 percent (15-22) during the first half. The Blue Devils also converted all 15 of their attempts from the free throw line.

UW-Oshkosh (8-5, 1-1 WIAC) went into the contest holding opponents to a WIAC-leading 63.9 points per game. The Titans had not allowed a team to shoot 56 percent from the floor in the previous 55 games.

The Titans, who shot 41.1 percent (23-56) from the field, held advantages in rebounds (30-25), assists (9-7), turnovers (14-12) and blocks (2-1). UW-Oshkosh made just 5 of 20 shots (25 percent) from behind the 3-point line.

John Keefe paced UW-Stout with 18 points, two assists and three steals while Nordstrom chipped in 10 points and a team-leading six rebounds. Keefe connected on 6 of 15 attempts from the floor, including 4 of 8 from beyond the 3-point arc.

UW-Oshkosh jumped out to a 16-9 advantage before UW-Stout took its first lead at 20-18 on a 3-pointer by Speer. The Blue Devils' 11-2 scoring run in the span of 2:25 included a pair of 3-pointers by Keefe.

The Titans reclaimed a 32-28 advantage following a pair of free throws from Wittchow and a 3-pointer by Noone, but UW-Stout took the lead for good at 34-32 on a 3-pointer by Keefe at the 3:06 mark of the opening half.

UW-Oshkosh missed its first three field goal attempts and committed three turnovers to begin the second, and the Blue Devils extended their lead to 55-41 with 11 minutes left.

The Titans scored six straight points to trim their deficit to 66-62 with just under four minutes left. A pair of free throws by Keefe ended a nearly three-minute UW-Stout scoring drought and increased the Blue Devil advantage to 68-62 with 2:09 to play.

A 3-pointer by Wittchow pulled the Titans within 68-65 at the 1:45 mark before his fade-away jumper cut the UW-Stout lead to one point with less than a minute to go.

Wittchow concluded the game with 19 points, four rebounds and three assists. He connected on 6 of 13 shots from the field and each of his six attempts at the free throw line.

Noone chipped in 11 points for the Titans, and Sean Dwyer added seven points and three rebounds in 10 minutes played off the bench. Max Schebel recorded six points and a team-high six rebounds and three assists for UW-Oshkosh.

UW-Oshkosh visits UW-Platteville on Wednesday (Jan. 11).