Titans Break Away From Cardinals With Late First-Half Surge
Adam Fravert compiled the best field goal percentage in school history on the way to a career-high 25 points, 10 rebounds and six assists as the nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh men's basketball team defeated Saint Mary's University (Minn.), 87-50, at the JustAGame Fieldhouse on Friday (Dec. 29) in Wisconsin Dells.
UW-Oshkosh (10-0), ranked fourth in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, never trailed and finished the first half with a 24-8 scoring run en route to a 47-25 lead at intermission. All 18 Titans in uniform received playing time as UW-Oshkosh continued its best start since winning 11 consecutive games to open the 1996-97 season.
Fravert, who notched his fourth double-double of the year, shot 11-for-12 from the field. His .917 field goal percentage is the best for a Titan with at least 10 made field goals, eclipsing the previous mark of .909 (10-11) by John Flanigan against UW-Stout on Feb. 18, 2012.
Fravert surpassed his prior high of 22 points and matched his career best in assists.
UW-Oshkosh's Jack Flynn added 20 points and five rebounds – all on the offensive end – in just 12 minutes of action while Ben Boots chipped in 12 points, five rebounds, seven assists and two steals. Flynn went into the game ranked sixth in the country with 4.33 offensive rebounds per game. Boots, who did not commit a turnover, was sixth nationally with a 4.87 assist-to-turnover ratio.
The Titans concluded the contest with advantages in field goal percentage (.523 to .375), rebounds (51-19), assists (19-5), turnovers (14-9) and steals (6-5). UW-Oshkosh entered the game ranked fifth nationally with a +11.8 average rebounding margin while Saint Mary's University, which recorded its lowest assist and rebound totals since the 2014-15 season, allowed its fifth straight opponent to shoot better than 52 percent from the floor.
UW-Oshkosh connected on 34 of 65 shots from the field, including 8 of 19 (42.1 percent) from 3-point range, and 11 of 17 (64.7 percent) from the free throw line. The Titans made 50 percent (19-38) of their field goal attempts during the first half and 55.6 percent (15-27) in the second period.
Saint Mary's University shot 20-for-56 from the floor, including 5 of 23 (21.7 percent) from beyond the 3-point arc, and 5 of 10 (50 percent) from the foul line.
A dunk and a 3-pointer from Fravert sparked a string of nine straight points that gave the Titans a 32-17 lead with 6:45 left in the first half. The Cardinals pulled within 32-21 at the 5:43 mark, but UW-Oshkosh scored 15 of the next 19 points, including eight by Fravert, to extend its lead to 47-25 at halftime.
UW-Oshkosh led by at least 11 points for the game's final 29 minutes and owned at least a 20-point advantage the entire second half. The Titans built their largest lead of 39 points at 87-48 following a dunk by Sam Fredrickson with 11 seconds to play.
Christian Oliveras paced the Cardinals with a career-high 11 points off the bench while Kareem Anthony-Bello had 10 points and a team-leading five rebounds.
UW-Oshkosh has won each of its three meetings with the Cardinals since 2000. The Titans also defeated Saint Mary's University by scores of 91-79 on Nov. 25, 2011, and 80-55 on Nov. 22, 2000.
The Titans wrap up their trip to Wisconsin Dells against Ripon College on Saturday (Dec. 30).
Photo courtesy of D3Photography.com