Titans Begin NCAA Journey With Win Over Beavers
Cole Booth scored a career-high 23 points, Levi Borchert added a double-double and the nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh men's basketball team cruised to a 92-74 victory over Blackburn College (Ill.) during the first round of the NCAA Division III Championship on Friday (March 4) in Kolf Sports Center.
UW-Oshkosh (23-3), ranked third in the country by D3hoops.com, never trailed Friday, building leads of 44-26 at halftime and 78-46 with 7:11 remaining in the game. The Titans maintained a double-digit cushion for the final 23 minutes.
The Titans advance to play in the Oshkosh Regional final at 7:15 p.m. Saturday (March 5) against Case Western Reserve University (Ohio) in Kolf Sports Center. Case Western Reserve University (19-6), making its NCAA debut, won its first round contest, 91-87 in overtime, over University of Dubuque (Iowa) (21-7) on Friday in Oshkosh.
The winner of the Oshkosh Regional will play in the third round of the Division III Championship on March 11.
Booth shot 7-for-11 from the field, 3-for-6 from 3-point range and 6-for-6 at the free throw line to eclipse his previous career best of 18 points established against UW-Stout on Jan. 15. Booth scored 16 of his 23 points during the second half Friday.
Borchert, the 2022 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year and 2021 D3hoops.com Third Team All-American, produced his 15th double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 8-for-14 from the floor in 26 minutes.
UW-Oshkosh featured five double-figure scorers, including Eddie Muench with 16 points, Quinn Steckbauer 11 and Hunter Plamann 10. Plamann led all players with five assists. Eric Peterson collected nine rebounds and dished out three assists for the Titans, who also received seven boards and three blocks from Jonah Rindfleisch.
The Titans shot 32 of 61 (.525) from the field, 7-for-17 (.412) from beyond the 3-point arc and 21 of 28 (.750) at the foul line. UW-Oshkosh owned advantages of 38-33 in rebounds, 14-11 in assists, 11-12 in turnovers and 7-5 in blocks. Both teams registered eight steals.
UW-Oshkosh, the 2022 WIAC regular season and postseason champion, went into its second-ever meeting with Blackburn College ranked third nationally by limiting opponents to 26.8% from 3-point range and fifth with 9.3 turnovers per contest.
Blackburn College (11-18), which was the automatic qualifier out of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, shot 42.6% (29-68) from the floor, 37.5% (9-24) from 3-point range and 70% (7-10) at the free throw line as the Beavers committed 20 personal fouls while the Titans were whistled for 11.
Chanz Aldridge scored 19 of his team-leading 21 points during the second half for Blackburn College. Aldridge, who went 5-for-12 from beyond the 3-point arc, also had three assists and a pair of steals.
Javon Stovall added 18 points for the Beavers, who also got 10 rebounds and three blocks from Eliot Harrison II off the bench.
UW-Oshkosh reclaimed the lead for good at 4-2 on a Borchert layup with 18:14 left in the first half. A Steckbauer basket in the paint extended the Titan advantage to 17-8, and Muench 3-pointer provided a 42-24 lead with 49 seconds to play in the opening period. UW-Oshkosh owned a lead of at least 11 points for the rest of the night after Muench knocked down a 3-pointer for a 33-22 advantage at the 3:41 mark.
The Titans cushion ballooned to 20 points during the opening minute of the second half, and UW-Oshkosh later owned its largest lead of 32 points at 78-46 after a Reed Gunnink layup with 7:11 left.
UW-Oshkosh, embarking on its sixth straight and 11th overall trip to the Division III Championship, has never faced Case Western Reserve University. Blackburn College, which suffered a 76-48 loss to the Titans in the first meeting between the teams in 2014, was making its third NCAA postseason appearance and first since 2005.
UW-Oshkosh Postgame Press Conference
2022 UW-Oshkosh Men's Basketball Oshkosh Regional Media Guide
2022 NCAA Division III Championship Oshkosh Regional Program
2022 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship Digital Program
Photo by Steve Frommell, UW-Oshkosh Athletics