Titans Fend Off Green Knights

Ben Boots scored seven of his 14 points during the final three minutes, Jack Flynn and Adam Fravert both notched their first career double-doubles, and the UW-Oshkosh men's basketball team held on for a 60-57 victory at St. Norbert College on Tuesday (Nov. 21).

UW-Oshkosh (2-0) took the lead for good at 42-41 on a layup by Fravert with 7:37 remaining. A 3-pointer by Boots extended the Titan advantage to 54-49 with 2:18 to play, but an offensive rebound and layup from St. Norbert College's Mitchell Reinthaler pulled the Green Knights within 56-54 at the 1:01 mark.

The Green Knights' Riley Haas recorded a steal on the ensuing UW-Oshkosh possession, but D.J. DeValk missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer with 30 seconds to play. Boots then made a pair of free throws for a 58-54 Titan advantage with 17.4 seconds left.

DeValk drilled a 3-pointer to trim the St. Norbert College deficit to 58-57 before Boots sank two more free throws for a 60-57 Titan lead with less than five seconds left.

UW-Oshkosh secured its first win at St. Norbert College in exactly 10 years when the Green Knights' Joe Ciriacks had his 3-pointer from the left wing bounce off the rim as time expired.

St. Norbert College (2-1) suffered just its sixth loss in its past 72 home games.

The Titans' most recent victory at St. Norbert College had been a 78-68 decision on Nov. 21, 2007. UW-Oshkosh improved its record to 49-37 against St. Norbert College in a series that began during the 1917-18 season.

Fravert led the Titans with 17 points and 10 rebounds while Flynn added 10 points and 10 boards, including eight on the offensive end.

UW-Oshkosh's starting lineup accounted for all but two of its points as Charlie Noone and Brett Wittchow chipped in nine and eight points, respectively. Wittchow led the Titans with three assists.

The teams combined to shoot just 35.6 percent from the floor as UW-Oshkosh outshot the Green Knights, .393 to .323. St. Norbert College shot 8-for-30 (26.7 percent) from 3-point range while the Titans were 6-for-23 (26.1 percent) from long range.

UW-Oshkosh owned a 44-34 rebounding advantage. St. Norbert College had edges of 13-8 edge in turnovers, 11-8 in assists, 6-2 in steals and 5-2 in blocks.

Flynn converted a three-point play on the opening possession of the game, and a layup from Fravert gave UW-Oshkosh a 5-0 lead in the first 68 seconds of the contest.

St. Norbert College took its first lead at 12-11 on a layup by Reinthaler with 8:23 to go in the first half. The Titans reclaimed a 21-20 advantage on a basket by Fravert at the 2:23 mark, and UW-Oshkosh went into intermission with a 23-22 lead.

UW-Oshkosh connected on 32.1 percent (9-28) of its field goals during the opening half while St. Norbert College shot 8-for-32 (25 percent) from the floor.

Back-to-back field goals by Boots provided the Titans a 32-26 advantage with just under 17 minutes remaining before UW-Oshkosh matched its largest lead of seven points at 35-28 on a 3-pointer by Noone with 16:06 left.

Fravert threw down a dunk that gave the Titans a 37-34 lead with 12 minutes remaining, but a layup by Reinthaler allowed the Green Knights to regain a 38-37 advantage with 10:41 to play.

St. Norbert College owned its last lead of the contest at 41-40 following a 3-pointer from Wade Geenen with just under eight minutes to go.

The Green Knights' Reinthaler led all players with 22 points while DeValk added 10 points and a team-leading three assists. Joe Lemon paced St. Norbert College with eight rebounds.

UW-Oshkosh hosts Edgewood College on Wednesday (Nov. 22) in Kolf Sports Center.

Photo courtesy of Chip Manthey