Titans Manufacture An Easy Victory In Home Opener

Jack Flynn led all players with 14 points and 10 rebounds as the nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh men's basketball team closed out the first half with a long scoring run and coasted to an 86-53 home-opening victory over North Park University (Ill.) on Tuesday (Nov. 27) in Kolf Sports Center.

UW-Oshkosh (3-1), ranked ninth in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, seized control with a 34-7 run over the final 13:37 of the opening half en route to entering intermission with a 46-17 advantage. The Titans' decisive first-half surge featured a string of 15 unanswered points that turned a 12-10 lead into a 25-12 advantage at the 9:13 mark. UW-Oshkosh, which never trailed, went on to maintain a double-digit lead for the final 29:53 of the contest.

Flynn made 5 of 7 shots from the field and each of his four free throws on the way notching his 10th career double-double in just 17 minutes of action.

Adam Fravert scored all of his 12 points during the Titans' 34-7 scoring run, including a 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer and a forceful two-handed dunk that extended UW-Oshkosh's lead to 27-14. Fravert, who added four rebounds and five assists, has now scored in double figures 26 times during his last 35 games.

Ben Boots contributed nine points for UW-Oshkosh and finished one shy of his career high with seven assists. Brett Wittchow and David Vlotho rounded out the Titan starting lineup with eight and seven points, respectively.

UW-Oshkosh had 15 scorers as no Titan played more than 24 minutes. Titan reserves accounted for 36 points, 27 rebounds and five steals.

Connor Duax led the UW-Oshkosh non-starters with nine points while Alex Van Dyke matched his career best with seven points in his first game of the year, Declan O'Connor chipped in a career-high five points and Eric Peterson grabbed six rebounds.

UW-Oshkosh concluded the contest with considerable advantages in rebounds (52-32), offensive rebounds (20-9) and assists (22-12). The Titans shot 44.7 percent (34-76) from the field, 28.1 percent (9-32) from 3-point range and 75 percent (9-12) at the free throw line. UW-Oshkosh's 52 rebounds are its most in the 314 games since pulling down 53 against Grinnell College (Iowa) on Jan. 4, 2007.

North Park University (1-6) was held to 33.9 percent (21-62) shooting from the floor, 17.4 percent (4-23) from beyond the 3-point arc and 87.5 percent (7-8) at the foul line. The Vikings, who made just one of their first 17 3-point attempts, had a .231 (6-26) field goal percentage during the first half.

UW-Oshkosh took the lead for good at 7-4 on a 3-pointer from Boots with 17:12 remaining in the first half. Toby Marek drove for a layup to trim the Viking deficit to 12-10 at the 13:37 mark, but UW-Oshkosh limited North Park University to 3-for-17 shooting from the floor and created six Viking turnovers during the remainder of the first half.

The Titans' 34-7 scoring run of nearly 14 minutes to end the period included each of Fravert's, Van Dyke's and Vlotho's points on the night. Duax and Flynn both contributed four points during the run while Boots dished out five of his seven assists.

UW-Oshkosh owned its largest lead of 39 points at 79-40 following a layup by O'Connor with 4:25 left.

Marek paced the Vikings with 10 points. Jake Ellis added seven points in eight minutes off the North Park University bench.

UW-Oshkosh improves to 5-1 against five-time national champion North Park University in a series that began in 1994. The Titans downed the Vikings, 71-58, during their matchup last season in Chicago.

The Titans, who picked up their third consecutive home-opening win, have made three straight Division III Championship appearances, including a national runner-up finish a year ago. North Park University won Division III titles in 1978, 1979, 1980, 1985 and 1987.

UW-Oshkosh plays its second straight College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin opponent when it travels to Elmhurst College (Ill.) on Saturday (Dec. 1).