Titans Capture WIAC Tournament Title, NCAA Postseason Berth
Levi Borchert produced his 14th double-double of the season as UW-Oshkosh withstood a late UW-Platteville comeback attempt and hung on for a thrilling 75-73 victory during a battle of highly ranked teams in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament championship game Saturday (Feb. 26) in front of a vocal crowd of 1,296 fans in Kolf Sports Center.
UW-Oshkosh (22-3), ranked third in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, took the lead for good at 17-15 on an Eric Peterson layup with 9:02 remaining in the first half and held a 58-48 advantage with 6:48 to go in the game before sixth-ranked UW-Platteville (21-5) pulled within 65-63 at the 3:15 mark and 74-73 with 18 seconds left.
Hunter Plamann made two free throws to extend the UW-Oshkosh lead to 74-70 with 28 seconds to play, but Quentin Shields answered with a 3-pointer 10 seconds later to trim the Pioneers deficit to 74-73. UW-Oshkosh's Eddie Muench split a pair of free throws with just under nine seconds remaining for a 75-73 edge, and Shields' attempt at a tying jumper from the left wing caromed into the hands of Peterson as time expired.
Top-seeded UW-Oshkosh clinched its fifth WIAC Tournament (presented by Culver's) title and second in the past three seasons. The Titans also claimed league postseason championships in 2002, 2003, 2016 and 2020. UW-Oshkosh, the 2022 WIAC regular season winner, won both conference championships in the same year for the second time and first since 2002.
With the victory UW-Oshkosh secures the WIAC's automatic berth into the 64-team Division III Championship that begins with first and second round games next Friday and Saturday (March 4-5). The Titans will learn their NCAA postseason regional opponents and venue during an online selection show at 11:30 a.m. (CST) Monday (Feb. 28).
Despite the loss, second-seeded UW-Platteville, which was seeking its second straight and fourth overall WIAC Tournament championship, is expected to receive one of 20 at-large berths into the Division III Championship field.
UW-Oshkosh and UW-Platteville met in the WIAC Tournament final for the first time Saturday. The Titans, who swept all three of their matchups with UW-Platteville this season, have now won 20 of their last 21 home games. UW-Oshkosh previously defeated the Pioneers by scores of 83-67 on Jan. 19 in Platteville and 65-51 on Feb. 2 in Kolf Sports Center.
Levi Borchert had 18 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks to lead the Titans, shooting 6-for-10 from the field and 6-for-8 at the free throw line. Borchert, a 2021 D3hoops.com Third Team All-American, is now averaging 18.6 points and 10.7 rebounds per game this season while shooting 62.1% from the floor.
Muench and Peterson added 16 and a season-high 15 points, respectively, for UW-Oshkosh. Muench went 3-for-7 from 3-point range. Peterson shot 7-for-9 from the field.
Plamann chipped in nine points, five rebounds and four assists for the Titans, who also received eight points from Cole Booth, and six points and five boards from Jonah Rindfleisch.
UW-Oshkosh shot 46.6% (27-58) from the field, 27.8% (5-18) from beyond the 3-point arc and 72.7% (16-22) at the free throw line. The Titans held a 37-35 rebounding advantage. Both teams registered six blocks.
UW-Platteville went 28 of 63 (.444) from the floor, 7-for-24 (.292) from 3-point range and 10 of 14 (.714) at the foul line. The Pioneers had edges of 12-9 in assists, 6-7 in turnovers and 3-1 in steals.
Kyle Tuma paced the Pioneers with 23 points on 8-for-12 shooting from the floor to go along with 15 rebounds and a pair of steals. The double-double was his 10th of the season.
Shields finished with 21 points and three assists for UW-Platteville while Justin Stovall had nine points and eight rebounds.
UW-Platteville raced out to leads of 7-2 and 11-4 until UW-Oshkosh responded with a 16-4 run to take the lead for good. Muench, who drilled back-to-back 3-pointers, and Borchert combined to account for 13 points during the Titans' pivotal 16-4 run.
UW-Oshkosh went on to lead by as many as 10 points during the first half, including by a 39-29 score at intermission following a Borchert layup with under a minute to play in the opening period.
The Titans held the largest cushions by either team when they led by 13 points at 42-29, 44-31 and then 54-41 with 10 minutes left after a Rindfleisch basket in the paint. UW-Platteville later cut its deficits to 65-63 on a pair of Stovall free throws with 3:15 remaining and to 72-70 with 31 ticks left after a Shields layup.
The Pioneers and Titans entered the WIAC championship game with the top two scoring defenses in the league as UW-Platteville was allowing 63.4 points per game and UW-Oshkosh followed at 63.9. The Titans also went into Saturday ranked second nationally by limiting opponents to a .267 3-point percentage and fifth at 9.4 turnovers per contest.
UW-Oshkosh improved its record to 5-1 this season against teams ranked in the top eight in the country. The Titans, whose lone top-eight setback on the year was a 65-63 decision Nov. 13 at fourth-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University, not only defeated then-second-ranked UW-Platteville twice previously but also picked up wins of 56-53 at eighth-ranked UW-La Crosse, and 80-77 at home against seventh-ranked UW-La Crosse.
Photo by Steve Frommell, UW-Oshkosh Athletics