Titans Collect Road Win Over Falcons
Levi Borchert had a career high-tying 25 points and eight rebounds to lead the nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh men's basketball team to an 80-70 victory at UW-River Falls in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup Saturday (Jan. 8).
UW-Oshkosh (13-2, 3-1 WIAC), ranked fourth in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, turned a 22-15 deficit at the 10:15 mark of the first half into a 31-24 lead with 5:15 to go before intermission en route to earning its seventh consecutive win over UW-River Falls. The Titans, who led by as many as 18 points during the second half, did not trail for the final 27:40 of the contest.
The Titans' crucial 16-4 run during a span of five minutes in the first half included six points from Borchert, five by Quinn Steckbauer, three from Hunter Plamann and two by Jonah Rindfleisch. Steckbauer's corner 3-pointer provided UW-Oshkosh the lead for good at 25-24 with 7:40 remaining in the opening period.
Borchert scored 19 of his points in the first half and finished the game shooting 10 of 17 from the field. Borchert, a 2021 D3hoops.com Third Team All-American is now averaging 17.9 points and 10.7 rebounds on the year while shooting 63.2% from the floor.
UW-Oshkosh featured four double-digit scorers as Steckbauer added 19 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the field while Plamann had 14 points and Eddie Muench 10. Rindfleisch and Eric Peterson chipped in six points apiece for the Titans. Plamann drained three 3-pointers, collected seven rebounds and dished out five assists.
The Titans shot 52.7% (29-55) from the field, 47.1% (8-17) from 3-point range and 56% (14-25) at the free throw line. UW-Oshkosh, which shot better than 50% from the floor for the sixth time on the year, owned advantages of 37-28 in rebounds, 14-9 in assists and 3-2 in steals. The Titans, who have outrebounded 14 of 15 opponents this season, went into Saturday ranked third in the country at 9.2 turnovers per game.
UW-River Falls (7-5, 0-3 WIAC), playing for the first time since Dec. 18, went 27 of 63 (.429) from the floor, 6-for-22 (.273) from beyond the 3-point arc and 10 of 13 (.769) at the foul line. The Falcons held edges of 6-12 in turnovers and 7-0 in blocks.
Noah Hanson paced the Falcons with 17 points while Rodrick Payne and Marshall Holland had 14 and 13 points, respectively. Payne led all players with 10 rebounds. UW-River Falls' Bryce Phillips contributed five points and a game-best six assists.
UW-River Falls scored nine consecutive points to reclaim a 15-9 lead with 15 minutes left in the first half and extended its cushion to 22-15 midway through the opening period until a Rindfleisch layup sparked UW-Oshkosh's decisive 16-4 run that continued with a Plamann 3-pointer.
The Falcons answered with a jumper to up their advantage to 24-20, but a Borchert layup and Steckbauer's go-ahead 3-pointer began a string of 11 straight UW-Oshkosh points. Borchert and Steckbauer both scored in the paint ahead of a short Borchert jumper for a 31-24 Titans lead with 5:15 to play in the first half.
Leading 42-37 at halftime, UW-Oshkosh maintained at cushion of at least six points the rest of the way following a Plamann 3-pointer for a 47-39 lead with 18:50 left. The Titans held their largest lead of 18 points on two occasions during the second half as Rindfleisch's jumper provided a 67-49 cushion with 9:45 to go, and Peterson drilled a 3-pointer for a 76-58 advantage at the 3:44 mark.
UW-Oshkosh hosts UW-Stevens Point on Wednesday (Jan. 12) in Kolf Sports Center.
Photo by Sam Silver, Silver Photography