Titans Fall To 24th-Ranked Green Knights In Season Debut

Nationally ranked St. Norbert College strung together 12 consecutive points early in the second half to pull away and spoil UW-Oshkosh's opening game of the 2013-14 men's basketball season on Wednesday (Nov. 20) in De Pere.

The Green Knights (2-0), ranked 24th in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, won the contest, 63-53, to earn their sixth straight victory in the series. Overall, UW-Oshkosh (0-1) has won 48 of the 82 meetings.

With the game tied at 25, St. Norbert College scored 12 straight points to take a 37-25 lead with 12:50 to play. The scoring run featured points from four different players, including four by Brandon Gries.

UW-Oshkosh responded with a 7-0 run of its own to trim the deficit to 39-35 with 9:54 left, but would get no closer. The Titans trailed 57-51 with 1:44 remaining, but the Green Knights closed out the game by scoring six of the last eight points.

The Titans started out strong as they built a 19-11 lead on a three-point play by Alex Olson with 6:11 left in the first half. UW-Oshkosh then missed seven straight shots and turned the basketball over five times as St. Norbert College scored 11 consecutive points to take a 22-19 lead to intermission.

Gries made a pair of free throws to get the Green Knights' late first-half run started, and later drained a jump shot to cut the deficit in half. Bryan Dalton made two free throws, and Austin Elliott's 3-pointer with 1:12 left gave St. Norbert College its first lead at 20-19. A pair of free throws by Gries ended the first-half scoring.

UW-Oshkosh was led in scoring by the 15 points from Jade Royston and the 14 from Dylan Wurtz. The two players accounted for seven of the Titans' eight three-point baskets.

UW-Oshkosh also received eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds from Max Schebel, eight points from Alex Olson and six assists from Royston.

The Titans shot 32.7 percent (18-55) from the field, 34.8 (8-23) behind the three-point line and 69.2 (9-13) from the free throw stripe. UW-Oshkosh committed 12 turnovers.

Gries led St. Norbert College with 21 points, while Kam Cerroni added 12 and Dalton 11. Andy Fox contributed six assists and Izaiah Anderson six rebounds and three blocked shots.

St. Norbert College converted all 22 of its free throw attempts to set a school record. The Green Knights also shot 43.9 percent (18-41) from the field and 41.7 percent (5-12) beyond the three-point arc.

UW-Oshkosh kicks off its home schedule by playing Finlandia University (Mich.) on Saturday (Nov. 23) in Kolf Sports Center.