Titans Back In The NCAA Postseason After Winning WIAC Championship Title
Charlie Noone scored 19 points and Alex Olson added 14 as UW-Oshkosh secured a bid into the NCAA postseason for the first time in 13 years with a 66-63 triumph over UW-River Falls in the title game of the WIAC Men's Basketball Championship held Sunday (Feb. 28) in Kolf Sports Center.
UW-Oshkosh (18-9), which captured its third WIAC Championship crown and first since 2003, will now play in the 62-team NCAA Division III Championship that begins March 3-4. The Titans will learn their first-round opponent and venue during an online selection show at 11:30 a.m. on Monday (Feb. 29).
In Sunday's championship contest, UW-River Falls (17-11) trailed, 61-52, before consecutive 3-pointers by Garret Pearson and Jon Christensen cut the Falcons' deficit to 61-58 with 2:40 left. UW-Oshkosh then pushed its lead to 63-58 when Max Schebel converted a layup at the 2:18 mark.
After UW-River Falls' Connor Goodwin missed the front end of a bonus free throw opportunity with 90 seconds to play, UW-Oshkosh's Taylor Jansen pulled down an offensive rebound on the ensuing possession, allowing the Titans to run nearly a minute off the clock.
Following a missed UW-Oshkosh shot, Christensen drove for a layup to cut the Titan lead to 63-60 with 23 ticks left. Noone then drained a pair of free throws to make the score 65-60 with 14 seconds to play.
A 3-pointer by CJ Lewis pulled the Falcons within 65-63 with less than five seconds remaining, and Schebel split a pair of free throws to provide the final score with two seconds left. UW-River Falls' inbound pass was stolen by Kyle Bolger beyond half court to end the game.
Noone made five 3-pointers and all four of his free throws, while Olson added five rebounds and four assists. Ben Boots and Brett Wittchow chipped in eight points apiece and Schebel seven for UW-Oshkosh. Nick Olson paced the team with eight rebounds.
Fourth-seeded UW-River Falls outshot second-seeded UW-Oshkosh, 47.1 percent (24-51) to 37.3 percent (22-59), and held advantages in rebounds (36-33), blocks (3-1) and steals (6-4).
UW-Oshkosh drained 10 3-pointers and held a 15-9 advantage in turnovers. The Titans converted 12 of 17 (70.6 percent) shots from the free throw line, while the Falcons made just 6 of 10 (60 percent).
The Titans jumped out to an 8-1 lead and maintained an advantage until UW-River Falls went ahead for the first time at 22-21 with eight minutes to go in the first half.
Alex Olson's layup pushed UW-Oshkosh's lead back to 29-24, but a 3-pointer by Falcon Devin Buckley tied the score at 32 at intermission.
UW-River Falls took its largest lead of four points at 43-39 on a 3-pointer by Christensen at the 13:55 mark of the second half, but a 3-pointer by Noone gave UW-Oshkosh the lead for good at 46-45 with 10:43 left.
Christensen, the WIAC's leading scorer (17.9) and second-leading rebounder (8.4), led four Falcons in double figures with 19 points while collecting a game-high 10 boards and three steals.
Pearson had 17 points for UW-River Falls, which also received 10 apiece from Grant Erickson and Lewis.
UW-Oshkosh won two of three games against UW-River Falls this season. The Titans won the previous meeting, 65-62, on Feb. 20 in Oshkosh, while the Falcons won the WIAC opener, 76-75, in overtime on Jan. 6 in River Falls.
The Titans were making their second straight appearance in the WIAC title game. UW-Whitewater defeated UW-Oshkosh, 71-57, during last year's final in Whitewater.
UW-Oshkosh, which won its first WIAC Championship title in 2002, will be making its sixth appearance in the Division III Championship and first since 2003.