Five Double-Digit Scorers Lead Titans To Rout Of Falcons
Adam Fravert had 19 points and 11 rebounds, Jack Flynn added 19 points of his own and the defending NCAA Division III and WIAC champion UW-Oshkosh men's basketball team stayed tied atop the league standings with an 89-62 victory over UW-River Falls on Saturday (Jan. 18) in Kolf Sports Center.
UW-Oshkosh (10-6, 4-1 WIAC), which trailed for less than 40 seconds the entire contest, went into halftime with a 43-34 lead before putting the game away with a 17-3 run during the opening minutes of the second half for a 60-39 advantage. The Titans led by at least 16 points for the final 15 minutes of the game en route to earning their fifth consecutive win against the Falcons.
Fravert, who recorded his 18th career double-double, and Flynn both shot 8-for-15 from the field Saturday. Flynn scored 15 of his 19 points in the first half on the way to scoring in double digits for the 12th time this year and 69th during his career.
UW-Oshkosh featured five double-digit scorers for the fifth occasions this season as Will Mahoney had 16 points while Levi Borchert and Eric Peterson had 10 apiece, and Eddie Muench nine. Mahoney had all but three of his points in the second half. Borchert, who contributed six rebounds, shot 4-for-6 from the floor and is now 50 of 70 (.714) on the year.
The Titans finished the game shooting 52.2 percent (36-69) from the field, 34.8 percent (8-23) from 3-point range and 90 percent (9-10) at the free throw line, marking their seventh contest this year with at least a .500 field goal percentage. UW-Oshkosh owned advantages of 49-27 in rebounds, 17-13 in assists and 5-4 in steals. Both teams had four blocks.
UW-Oshkosh, which entered Saturday ranked ninth in the country with a +9.6 average rebounding margin, has outrebounded 17 of its last 18 opponents. The Titans were also leading the WIAC with 82.8 points, 43.9 rebounds and 9.5 made 3-pointers per game, and 68 blocks. UW-Oshkosh became just the second team to score more than 86 points against UW-River Falls this season.
Jack Stensgard paced UW-River Falls with 14 points and two assists.
Noah Hanson and Julian Jackson both contributed 10 points for the Falcons, who shot 24 of 65 (.369) from the floor, 5-for-23 (.217) from beyond the 3-point arc and 9-for-14 (.643) at the foul line. The Falcons grabbed a season-low three offensive rebounds are were held to their second-lowest field goal percentage of the year.
UW-River Falls (9-7, 2-3 WIAC) took its lone lead of the contest at 4-2 after a Stensgard jumper with 18:16 left in the first half. Muench drove for a layup 39 seconds later, and Fravert scored in the lane to give the Titans a 6-4 advantage they would not relinquish for the remaining 17 minutes of the game.
The Falcons scored on the opening possession of the second half to pull within 43-36, but UW-Oshkosh responded with a 17-3 run over the next five minutes to build its lead to 60-39 with 14:25 left. Six different Titans contributed points during their 17-3 run as Fravert hit a pair of 3-pointers before Borchert capped the surge with a layup.
UW-Oshkosh later went on a 20-2 run during a span of nearly six minutes, increasing its lead from 69-53 at the 6:39 mark to 89-55 with 55 seconds to play. Borchert began the 20-2 blitz with a three-point play and his first collegiate 3-pointer on consecutive possessions. Fravert then scored the next four Titan points, Mahoney drilled back-to-back 3-pointers and Tommy McGlynn put the finishing touches on the late skein with a layup that gave UW-Oshkosh its largest lead of 34 points at 89-55 with 1:52 left.
The Titans have won by an average of 20.6 points during their current five-game winning streak against the Falcons.
UW-Oshkosh hosts UW-Stevens Point on Wednesday (Jan. 22) in Kolf Sports Center.