Titans Run Away From Blue Devils
Jack Flynn led four Titan double-digit scorers with 13 points as the nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh men's basketball team raced out to a large early lead and cruised to an 89-66 victory over UW-Stout on Wednesday (Jan. 10) in Kolf Sports Center.
UW-Oshkosh (12-2, 2-1 WIAC), ranked 13th in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, scored the first nine points of the game and built a 27-4 advantage with 10:44 remaining in the first half. The Titans connected on seven of their first eight field goal attempts and owned a lead of at least 10 points for the final 36:01 of the contest.
The Titans earned their sixth win in the past seven meetings with the Blue Devils by shooting 53.4 percent (31-58) from the floor, including 60.7 percent (17-28) during the first half, and held a 44-22 rebounding advantage.
UW-Oshkosh, which shot better than 50 percent from the field for the sixth time this season, drained 12 3-pointers on 28 attempts. The Titans, who amassed a season-best 22 assists, hit their first four 3-pointers of the game and concluded the first half 8-for-16 from beyond the arc.
The Titans went into the game pacing the WIAC in assists per game (15.2) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.27) while ranking third in the country in average rebounding margin (+11.8).
UW-Stout (6-8, 0-3 WIAC) was held to 39.6 percent (21-53) from the field, including 34.6 percent (9-26) in the first half. The Blue Devils held advantages of 10-7 in turnovers and 9-4 in steals. UW-Stout entered the game ranked second nationally by committing just 10.3 turnovers per contest.
Flynn shot 6-for-7 from the floor, grabbed three rebounds – all on the offensive end – and added a team-leading two blocks in 20 minutes of action. He went into the game leading the conference with 8.2 rebounds and 4.38 offensive boards per contest.
Adam Fravert registered 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists for the Titans, who also received 10 points apiece from Ben Boots and Brett Wittchow. Fravert entered the contest tied with Flynn for the league lead at 8.2 rebounds per game.
Charlie Noone rounded out the UW-Oshkosh starting lineup with eight points and a game-high five assists.
Thirteen Titans scored as the UW-Oshkosh reserves accounted for 37 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists. Connor Duax provided nine points off the UW-Oshkosh bench while Alex Van Dyke had seven points and four rebounds. Titan reserves Kyle Beyak and David Vlotho chipped in four assists and seven rebounds, respectively.
UW-Stout missed nine of its first 11 field goal attempts and committed five turnovers during the first 11 minutes of the game while UW-Oshkosh shot 11-for-16 from the floor on the way to building a 29-6 lead at the 9:42 mark of the opening period.
Wittchow made back-to-back 3-pointers in the span of 30 seconds to extend the Titans' advantage to 15-2 before a dunk from Van Dyke increased their lead to 20-4 with 13:37 to play in the first half. Wittchow, who made all three of his 3-point shots, then drained his third long-range jumper for a 27-4 lead at the 10:44 mark.
UW-Stout pulled within 31-19 on a 3-pointer from Sam Ortmann with 6:51 remaining in the first half, but UW-Oshkosh responded with eight consecutive points, including six from Fravert, for a 39-19 advantage with 4:44 to play in the opening period. The Titans went to intermission with a 48-29 lead.
A 3-pointer by Duax gave UW-Oshkosh a 59-37 lead with 15:29 left, and the Titans led by at least 20 points for the remainder of the game. UW-Oshkosh held its largest lead of 33 points at 82-49 on a 3-pointer from Jake Laihinen with 4:36 left.
UW-Stout's Joe Duty led all players with a season-high 24 points. He made 7 of 12 shots from the floor and 7 of 8 attempts at the free throw line while adding a team-best four rebounds and two steals.
Zach Dahl had 10 points, two assists and two steals for the Blue Devils.
The Titans remain at home to host seventh-ranked and defending WIAC champion UW-River Falls on Saturday (Jan. 13).