Ben Boots tallied 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists during UW-Oshkosh's win over Lawrence University.
Ben Boots tallied 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists during UW-Oshkosh's win over Lawrence University.

Titans Surpass 90 Points In Fourth Straight Game

Jack Flynn and Jake Zeitler led five Titan double-digit scorers with 16 points apiece as the nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh men's basketball team made a season-high 17 3-pointers and rolled to a 91-53 victory over Lawrence University on Friday (Dec. 14) in Appleton.

UW-Oshkosh (8-1), ranked sixth in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, never trailed after scoring the first four points of the game on layups by Flynn. The Titans went on to build leads of 16-2 in the first half and 91-51 during the second period before concluding the contest with a 41-21 rebounding advantage and notching a season-best 25 assists on 31 made field goals.

The Titans, winners of seven consecutive games, have surpassed 90 points in four straight contests for the first time since Dec. 6-17, 1994.

Flynn, who made each of his nine field goal attempts during the Titans' 36-point win over Calvin College (Mich.) last Saturday (Dec. 8), extended his streak to 12 consecutive field goals made before missing a baseline jumper with just over 12 minutes to play in the first half. Flynn concluded Friday's game shooting 6-for-11 from the floor and 4-for-4 at the free throw line while collecting eight rebounds. He has now converted each of his last 17 free throw attempts.

Zeitler eclipsed his career-high scoring performance for the third straight game after connecting on 5 of 8 shots from 3-point range in a reserve role.

Brett Wittchow added 13 points and a career-high seven assists for the Titans, who also received 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists from Ben Boots, and 12 points, five rebounds, five assists and three blocks from Adam Fravert.

Brian Wilman chipped in eight points in seven minutes off the UW-Oshkosh bench. Connor Duax contributed seven points while making his first start as a Titan.

UW-Oshkosh shot 51.7 percent (31-60) from the field, marking its fifth contest this season with a .500 or better field goal percentage. The Titans went 17-for-31 (54.8 percent) from beyond the arc, including 10 of 15 (66.7 percent) during the second half, and 12-for-16 (75 percent) at the foul line.

The Titans, who committed just seven turnovers, went into Friday ranked sixth in the country with a 1.70 assist-to-turnover ratio and 10 turnovers per game.

Lawrence University (5-5) shot 37.7 percent (20-53) from the floor, 31.6 percent (6-19) from 3-point range and 63.6 percent (7-11) at the free throw line. The Vikings were limited to a season-low three offensive rebounds.

UW-Oshkosh's 16-2 scoring run to open the game featured four points apiece from Duax and Flynn. Lawrence University made just one of its first eight field goal attempts and committed three turnovers during the first seven minutes of the contest.

The Vikings pulled within 26-19 with just over six minutes remaining in the first half, but Wittchow drilled a 3-pointer that extended UW-Oshkosh's lead to 34-22 at the 3:44 mark, and the Titans led by at least 12 points the rest of the way.

UW-Oshkosh, which went into intermission with a 42-28 lead, put the game away with 12 unanswered points during a span of 96 seconds that stretched the Titan advantage to 71-43 with 11 minutes remaining. Zeitler accounted for 10 of the 12 UW-Oshkosh points during the decisive run, sparking the surge with a four-point play before adding two more jumpers from beyond the arc.

Wittchow hit a 3-pointer to extend UW-Oshkosh's lead to 76-45 with 9:04 left, and the Vikings trailed by at least 31 points for the remainder of the game. UW-Oshkosh owned its largest cushion of 40 points at 91-51 following a 3-pointer by Tommy McGlynn with 1:20 to play.

George Mavrakis paced Lawrence University with 10 points, five rebounds and two steals. Quinn Fisher added nine points and a team-leading five assists for the Vikings.

The Titans and Vikings met for the first time since a 75-66 UW-Oshkosh victory on Nov. 24, 2010. Lawrence University maintains a 33-18 advantage in the series that began in 1903.

UW-Oshkosh returns home to host St. Norbert College on Tuesday (Dec. 18) in Kolf Sports Center. St. Norbert College, like Lawrence University, is a member of the Midwest Conference.

Photo bySteve Frommell, D3Photography.com