Blugolds Edge Titans In Overtime
UW-Eau Claire's Carter Hanke made a contested fadeaway jumper in the paint with three seconds remaining, UW-Oshkosh's attempt at a winning 3-pointer from just inside halfcourt caromed off the back of the rim and the Blugolds pulled out a 74-72 overtime win over the nationally ranked Titans men's basketball team Wednesday (Jan. 26) in Eau Claire.
In a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game that featured 19 lead changes and 13 ties, UW-Oshkosh knotted the score at 62 on a Quinn Steckbauer 3-pointer with 55 seconds left in regulation and again at 64 following a Steckbauer layup with 28 seconds remaining during the second half before UW-Eau Claire missed a layup as time expired to send the game into overtime.
Neither team led by more than three points during the overtime period that included five lead changes. The Titans took their first lead of the extra session at 66-54 after a Cole Booth jumper and later reclaimed a 70-69 edge on a Steckbauer layup with 55 seconds left. However, UW-Eau Claire's Brock Voigt answered with a three-point play 17 seconds later for a 72-70 Blugolds advantage.
Booth drained a pair of free throws to tie the game for the 13th and final time at 72 with 26 seconds left, but Hanke, with the game clock at nine seconds, drove from the left wing to the right side of the lane, made a spin and fired what turned out to be the game-winning fadeaway shot off one leg from just inside the free throw line.
Steckbauer's ensuing running attempt in the middle of the court from 43 feet was on line but bounced off the rim to clinch the UW-Eau Claire victory. The Blugolds (10-10, 3-6 WIAC) fell to the Titans by a 69-60 score Dec. 1 in Oshkosh.
UW-Oshkosh (15-3, 5-2 WIAC), ranked fourth in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, is in third in the league standings – 1.5 games behind fifth-ranked and conference leader UW-Platteville (18-1, 7-1) – with five regular season contests remaining.
Levi Borchert led UW-Oshkosh with 18 points to go along with seven rebounds.
Steckbauer finished with 16 points for the Titans, who also received 10 points from Eddie Muench, nine apiece from Booth and Eric Peterson, and seven from Jonah Rindfleisch. Peterson grabbed a game-best 11 rebounds.
Voigt led all players with 23 points for UW-Eau Claire while Hanke had 14 points, Spencer Page 12 and Cater Brooks 10. Page also had a team-high six rebounds and three assists.
UW-Eau Claire shot 50% (32-64) from the field, 25% (2-8) from 3-point range and 53.3% (8-15) at the free throw line. The Blugolds held advantages of 12-5 in assists, 10-13 in turnovers and 3-2 in blocks.
UW-Oshkosh went 24 of 56 (.429) from the floor, 4-for-21 (.190) from beyond the 3-point arc and 20 of 30 (.667) at the foul line. The Titans owned advantages of 36-27 in rebounds and 8-7 in steals. UW-Oshkosh, which has outrebounded all but two opponents this season, went into the night ranked third nationally with 8.9 turnovers per game.
UW-Eau Claire went on a 15-5 run midway during the first half to claim the largest lead by either team at 28-18 with 3:34 left before intermission. The Blugolds, who maintained a 33-28 advantage at halftime, did not trail between the 11:03 mark of the first half until Borchert scored in the lane for a 42-41 UW-Oshkosh lead with 14:16 remaining in regulation.
Trailing 60-56 with two minutes to play in the second half, Muench drilled a 3-pointer that cut UW-Oshkosh's deficit to 60-59 with 97 seconds left in regulation, but Hanke responded with a layup to extend the Blugolds advantage to 62-59 at the 1:10 mark. UW-Eau Claire then answered Steckbauer's tying 3-pointer with a Voigt dunk that preceded Steckbauer's driving layup that sent the game into overtime.
UW-Oshkosh returns home to host UW-Platteville next Wednesday (Feb. 2). In Kolf Sports Center.