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Men's Basketball

Cole Booth scored 14 points, including a trio of 3-point baskets, against the Pioneers.
Cole Booth scored 14 points, including a trio of 3-point baskets, against the Pioneers.

Fifth-Ranked Titans Earn Road Win Over Second-Ranked Pioneers

Box Score

Levi Borchert paced four UW-Oshkosh double-digit scorers with 23 points, including 17 in the second half, as the Titans defeated UW-Platteville, 83-67, during a clash of Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rivals ranked in the top five of the D3hoops.com NCAA Division III men's basketball poll Wednesday (Jan. 19) in Platteville.

Fifth-ranked UW-Oshkosh (14-2, 4-1 WIAC) turned a 19-13 deficit into a 41-32 halftime lead before outscoring second-ranked UW-Platteville (16-1, 5-1), 42-35, during the second half. The Titans, who had not played since Jan. 8 due to COVID-19 related protocols, committed a season-low five turnovers, knocked down 10 3-pointers and made a season-best 21 free throws en route to dealing the Pioneers their first loss of the year.

Two-time defending WIAC regular season champion UW-Platteville, which also had its 14-game home winning streak come to end, entered Wednesday as one of two unbeaten Division III men's teams. Eighth-ranked University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) (11-0) is now the lone undefeated program in the country.

Borchert, a 2021 D3hoops.com Third Team All-American, added nine rebounds and two assists in addition to scoring at least 13 points for the 15th time this season. Borchert is now averaging 18.3 points and 10.6 rebounds while shooting 61.9% from the field on the year.

Quinn Steckbauer had 17 points and six rebounds for the balanced UW-Oshkosh offense that also received 14 points from Cole Booth, 12 from Hunter Plamann and eight from Eric Peterson. Peterson led the team with nine rebounds and four steals. Eddie Muench and Jonah Rindfleisch chipped in four assists and seven rebounds, respectively, for the Titans.

UW-Oshkosh shot 26 of 61 (.426) from the floor, 10 of 24 (.417) from 3-point range and 21 of 30 (.700) at the free throw line. The Titans, who entered the night ranked third nationally at 9.4 turnovers per game, owned advantages of 34-31 in rebounds, 9-7 in assists, 5-12 in turnovers and 7-2 in steals. UW-Oshkosh's turnover total was its lowest since also committing five against Finlandia University (Mich.) on Dec. 4, 2018. The Titans have now outrebounded their opponents during 15 of 16 games this season.

UW-Platteville went 26 of 58 (.448) from the field, 6-for-19 (.316) from beyond the 3-point arc and 9-for-11 (.818) at the foul line. The Pioneers, who had an 8-0 edge in blocks, went into Wednesday ranked ninth in the country by allowing 61 points per game. UW-Platteville surrendered more than 69 points for just the third time this year.

Kyle Tuma paced UW-Platteville with 18 points and 10 rebounds to go along with three blocks.

Quentin Shields had 15 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Pioneers, who also received 12 points and 10 boards from Justin Stovall and 12 points from Logan Pearson.

The Pioneers claimed a 3-2 lead early and did not trail again until Plamann drilled the second of back-to-back 3-pointers for a 28-25 UW-Oshkosh advantage it would not relinquish with 4:30 left in the first half. The Titans then closed the opening period with their 28-13 run over the final 8:39.

The Titans made six 3-pointers during their half-ending barrage as Peterson, who accounted for six of the team's 28 points during the decisive run, connected on two long-range jumpers, and Steckbauer and Booth both added one.

A Borchert layup extended the UW-Oshkosh lead to 50-36 with 16:22 remaining, but UW-Platteville pulled within 58-54 following a Pearson layup at the 7:08 mark. However, Borchert scored each of the next six UW-Oshkosh points to up the advantage to 64-56 with 4:56 to go.

UW-Oshkosh then finished off the victory with a 21-11 run over the last five minutes as UW-Platteville was held to 4-for-14 shooting from the field after the 7:08 mark. Borchert contributed six points during the 21-11 game-ending run while Booth and Steckbauer added five apiece, and Muench made a 3-pointer well beyond the arc. A pair of Booth free throws gave UW-Oshkosh its largest lead of 18 points at 80-62 with 62 seconds remaining.

UW-Oshkosh and UW-Platteville, which had split their previous six meetings, have combined to claim each of the past four WIAC regular season championships. The Pioneers won the league in 2018, 2020 and 2021. UW-Oshkosh clinched the 2019 WIAC title on the way to earning the program's first national championship.

The Titans return home to host UW-River Falls on Saturday (Jan. 22) in Kolf Sports Center.