Pointers Hold On For Win Over Titans

UW-Stevens Point hung on for a 69-68 men's basketball victory as UW-Oshkosh was off the mark on a pair of potential go-ahead 3-pointers during the final six seconds on Wednesday (Feb. 1) in Kolf Sports Center.

A dunk from Zack Goedeke gave UW-Stevens Point a 69-65 advantage with 77 seconds remaining, but UW-Oshkosh's Ben Boots drilled a step-back 3-pointer to pull the Titans within 69-68 with 52 seconds to go.

UW-Oshkosh regained possession on a Taylor Jansen steal with 33 seconds left. Following timeouts by both teams, Boots missed from 3-point range with six seconds left.

Ethan Bublitz, who entered the contest leading UW-Stevens Point with a .873 free throw percentage, missed the front end of a 1-and-1 free throw, and Boots pulled down the rebound with three seconds to play.

After another timeout by both squads and a foul near midcourt by the Pointers, Boots' 3-pointer from the right wing bounced off the rim as time expired.

UW-Stevens Point (10-9, 4-5 WIAC) shot 63.8 percent (30-47) from the field, including 73.7 percent (14-19) during the second half. The Pointers made all seven of their field goal attempts during the final 6:27 of play.

UW-Oshkosh (12-8, 5-4 WIAC) falls into a tie for third in the league standings while UW-Stevens Point remains five game behind conference leader UW-River Falls (19-1, 9-0 WIAC) with five games remaining.

Goedeke paced the Pointers with 19 points on 9 of 11 shooting from the floor and two blocks.

Bublitz added 17 points, going 7-for-11 from the field for UW-Stevens Point while Mark Nelson had 11 points and a game-best seven rebounds off the Pointer bench.

UW-Stevens Point's Bryce Williams chipped in 10 points, and MJ Delmore contributed four points and a team-leading five assists.

UW-Oshkosh shot 11-for-23 (47.8 percent) from 3-point range and collected eight steals, but the Pointers owned advantages in field goal percentage (.638 to .479), rebounds (24-21) and assists (13-10).

The Titans drained four consecutive 3-pointers, including three in a row by Charlie Noone, on the way to building a 14-4 lead at the 15:28 mark of the first half.

Brett Wittchow made a pair of free throws to give UW-Oshkosh an 18-8 lead, but UW-Stevens Point answered with a 19-6 scoring run to reclaim a 27-24 advantage as the Pointers shot 8-for-11 from the floor during the spurt that spanned more than six minutes.

Tied at 29, Goedeke converted a three-point play to give the Pointers a 32-29 lead with 2:02 left in the opening half. A layup by Goedeke extended the Pointers' advantage to 36-29 before Boots hit a jumper at the buzzer to cut UW-Oshkosh's deficit to 36-31 at intermission.

UW-Stevens Point scored on six of its first nine possessions of the second half to increase its lead to 50-39 with 14:22 remaining.

The Titans pulled within 55-50 on a 3-pointer by Noone, and Noone's four-point play trimmed UW-Oshkosh's deficit to 59-56 with 5:17 to play.

Boots and Noone drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to pull the Titans within 63-62 at the 3:43 mark, and a layup by Max Schebel cut UW-Oshkosh's deficit to 67-65 with 1:45 to play.

Noone concluded the contest with a career-high 24 points on 7 of 9 shooting from the field, including 7-for-8 from 3-point territory.

Boots finished with 10 points and a team-leading five assists for the Titans while Schebel had nine points and a team-high five rebounds, and Wittchow added nine points and a game-best three steals.

UW-Oshkosh defeated UW-Stevens Point, 73-68, on Jan. 4 in Stevens Point. The road team has won the past five meetings in the series, including three by the Titans.

The Titans travel to league-leading UW-River Falls on Saturday (Feb. 4). The Falcons are ranked fourth in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com.