Titans Close Out Blugolds By Scoring Game's Final 16 Points

Adam Fravert had 28 points, six rebounds and a season-high seven assists as the reigning NCAA Division III and WIAC champion UW-Oshkosh men's basketball team scored the final 16 points of the game to pull away for an 82-66 victory at UW-Eau Claire on Wednesday (Jan. 15).

Fravert ignited the Titans' game-ending 16-point run with a 3-pointer that gave the Titans a 69-66 lead. Fravert and David Vlotho combined to score each of UW-Oshkosh's first 13 points during the decisive run that spanned the final 5:13 of the game as UW-Eau Claire missed its final seven field goal attempts.

UW-Oshkosh (9-6, 3-1 WIAC) is now tied atop the league standings after earning its fourth straight win over the Blugolds and eighth in the last nine meetings in the series. The Titans are among a four-way tie for first place in the WIAC standings with UW-La Crosse, UW-Platteville and UW-Stevens Point.

Fravert shot 11 of 19 from the field, including 4-for-10 from 3-point range, on the way to his 13th double-digit scoring performance of the season and 62nd career. Fravert is now averaging a team-leading 18.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.7 blocks per game with 34 made 3-pointers on the year.

UW-Oshkosh All-American Jack Flynn added 14 points while Eddie Muench had 11 points and a season-high nine rebounds, and Vlotho finished with eight points off the Titan bench.

The Titans shot 31 of 59 (.525) from the field, 10 of 26 (.385) from beyond the 3-point arc and 10 of 18 (.556) at the free throw line. UW-Oshkosh, which shot at least 50 percent from the field for the sixth time this season, owned a 32-30 rebounding advantage after entering the contest ranked ninth in the country with a +9.6 average rebounding margin while also leading the conference in scoring (82.9), rebounds (44.6) and made 3-pointers (9.5) per game, and 55 blocks. The Titans have outrebounded 16 of their last 17 opponents.

UW-Eau Claire shot 48.2 percent (27-56) from the floor, 23.5 percent (4-17) from 3-point range and 88.9 percent (8-9) at the foul line. The Blugolds, who entered the game leading the conference with a .494 field goal percentage, were held below 49 percent from the floor for just the fourth time this season. UW-Eau Claire concluded the game with edges of 7-4 in steals and 5-2 in blocks. Both teams had 13 assists and committed eight turnovers.

Blake Wacholz paced the Blugolds with 21 points and seven rebounds.

Cole Rabedeaux added 13 points for a UW-Eau Claire starting lineup that accounted for all but seven of the team's points and three of its rebounds.

The first half featured 13 lead changes as neither team led by more than five points. Wacholz drove for layup to extend the Blugolds' lead to 25-20 with five minutes remaining in the opening period, but UW-Oshkosh rallied to tie the score at 25 before matching their largest advantage of the first half at 36-32 following a Muench 3-pointer with 41 seconds left.

UW-Eau Claire (10-5, 1-3 WIAC), which suffered its third consecutive league loss, upped its lead to 61-55 on a Carter Brooks 3-pointer with 8:39 left in the second half. However, UW-Oshkosh erased its largest deficit of the contest during a span of less than two minutes as Fravert and Will Mahoney made field goals ahead of Flynn's layup that tied the score at 61 with 7:02 remaining.

Spencer Page pulled the Blugolds even at 66 on his jumper with 5:13 to go before Fravert and Vlotho took over. Vlotho scored five straight points, including a three-point play that increased the Titans' lead to 74-66 at the 3:16 mark, and Fravert accounted for the next five points on a layup and 3-pointer for a 79-66 UW-Oshkosh advantage with 1:46 to go. Brandon Whiteside closed UW-Oshkosh's 16-point run with a 3-pointer that provided the final score with 34 ticks remaining.

UW-Oshkosh returns home to host UW-River Falls on Saturday (Jan. 18) in Kolf Sports Center.