10th-Ranked Titans Pick Up Road Win Over Eighth-Ranked Eagles

Cole Booth and Jonah Rindfleisch both made a pair of free throws during the final seven seconds as UW-Oshkosh held on for a 56-53 victory at UW-La Crosse in a battle of nationally ranked Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball teams Saturday (Dec. 4).

UW-Oshkosh (8-1, 2-0 WIAC), ranked 10th in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, took the lead for good at 47-46 on a Levi Borchert layup with 4:08 remaining in the game. Hunter Plamann later drilled a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to extend the Titan lead to 50-46 before a Plamann layup provided UW-Oshkosh a 52-48 advantage over eighth-ranked UW-La Crosse at the 2:58 mark.

Both teams went scoreless on their next three possessions until UW-La Crosse's Sean Suchomel split two free throws to cut the Eagles deficit to 52-49 with 23 seconds left. After Plamann missed the front end of a one-and-one bonus free throw, WIAC leading scorer Ethan Anderson hit a jumper in traffic to pull UW-La Crosse within 52-51 with nine ticks to go.

Booth converted two clutch free throws for a 54-51 UW-Oshkosh advantage with seven seconds remaining, and the Titans elected to foul Suchomel in the backcourt with a three-point lead. Suchomel made both free throws to trim the Eagles deficit to 54-53. However, Rindfleisch, who entered the night 5-for-10 at the charity stripe on the year, knocked down two free throws with 3.7 ticks on the clock to cap the scoring as Suchomel's shot at a 40-foot tying 3-pointer – UW-La Crosse's 15th consecutive miss from beyond the arc – caromed off the rim at the buzzer.

UW-Oshkosh, which extended its winning streak to five games, has won four of the past five meetings with UW-La Crosse. The 109 total points scored Saturday were the fewest in the last 34 games of the series since UW-La Crosse slipped past UW-Oshkosh, 48-47, on Jan. 10, 2007.

UW-La Crosse (7-2, 0-2 WIAC) suffered its second league loss to a ranked league opponent this week. The Eagles also lost, 73-67, at home to fourth-ranked UW-Platteville (9-0, 2-0) on Wednesday (Dec. 1).

UW-Oshkosh's Borchert finished the night with a game best 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting from the field to go along with seven rebounds.

Eric Peterson added a season high 13 points and seven rebounds for the Titans, who also received 10 points from Quinn Steckbauer; eight points, nine rebounds and three assists from Plamann; and five points and eight boards from Rindfleisch.

Suchomel and Ethan Anderson paced UW-La Crosse with 14 points apiece while Seth Anderson chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds. Wyatt Cook, the reigning WIAC Player of the Year, was held to three points and eight boards. Ethan Anderson headed into Saturday leading the WIAC at 19.6 points per contest.

UW-Oshkosh concluded the defensive battle shooting 31.3% (20-64) from the field, 21.4% (6-28) from 3-point range and 83.3% (10-12) at the free throw line. The Titans owned advantages of 46-39 in rebounds (13-6 in offensive boards) and 9-4 in assists.

UW-La Crosse went 22 of 58 (.379) from the floor and 9-for-14 (.643) at the foul line while missing all 15 3-point shots. The Eagles, who held edges of 7-13 in turnovers and 4-3 in blocks, entered the day ranked 11th in the country with a .414 3-point percentage. UW-La Crosse was held without a made 3-pointer for the first time since going 0-for-8 from long range 381 games ago against UW-Platteville on Dec. 6, 2006.

UW-Oshkosh shot just 29.4% (10-34) from the field during the first half but went into intermission with a 28-22 lead as UW-La Crosse shot marginally better 32.1% (9-28) during the opening 20 minutes. The Titans closed out the first period on an 11-2 run after falling behind, 20-17, at the 5:13 mark as the Eagles went 1-for-8 from the floor over the final five minutes.

UW-La Crosse reclaimed the lead four times in the second half and owned its largest advantage at 41-36 with 10:39 to go.

UW-Oshkosh returns home to host North Central College (Ill.) for a nonconference game next Saturday (Dec. 11) in Kolf Sports Center.

Photo by James Lund