Titans Lose Battle To Nationally Ranked Eagles

All five Emory University (Ga.) starters scored in double figures as the nationally ranked Eagles pulled away in the closing minutes for an 87-80 victory over the UW-Oshkosh men's basketball team Sunday (Dec. 29) in Atlanta, Ga.

Emory University, which entered the contest ranked second in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, was led by Romin Williams' 24 points and eight rebounds.

The Eagles (10-0) also received 15 points and eight rebounds from Matt Davet; 15 points, five assists and three rebounds from Nick Stuck; 13 points and six rebounds from Matthew Schner; and 11 points and a game-high 16 rebounds from Lawrence Rowley. Davet and Williams both had a trio of 3-point baskets.

UW-Oshkosh (5-5), which defeated Emory University in the third round of the 2018 NCAA Division III Championship during its only previous meeting, was paced by the career-high scoring efforts of Adam Fravert and Eddie Muench.

Fravert scored 30 points, including four 3-point baskets, while totaling eight rebounds, four steals and three assists. Muench tallied 16 points, including five 3-pointers, while contributing four rebounds off the bench.

The Titans also acquired 12 points, four rebounds and three assists from Will Mahoney, seven points and seven rebounds from Jack Flynn, and seven points and four rebounds from David Vlotho.

UW-Oshkosh and Emory University exchanged the lead 12 times in the first 13 minutes of the game. The Titans held a 22-21 advantage with 7:12 left in the first half before the Eagles scored six straight points to take a 27-22 lead with 6:10 remaining in the opening frame.

UW-Oshkosh cut its deficit to 27-25 on a 3-pointer by Fravert before Emory University rattled off nine straight points to take a 36-25 lead with 3:39 to play before intermission. The Eagles went to the break with a 39-32 advantage on the scoreboard.

Emory University held a 47-40 lead early in the second half before UW-Oshkosh staged a 13-5 scoring run to take a 53-52 lead with 13 minutes to play.

The defending NCAA Division III champion Titans fell behind 59-56 but a string of six straight points gave UW-Oshkosh a 62-59 lead with 8:06 left. The teams then swapped a few more leads before UW-Oshkosh took its last lead of the game at 70-69 with 4:30 remaining.

UW-Oshkosh's final lead lasted just 12 seconds as a pair of Davet free throws gave Emory University the advantage for good at 71-70 with 4:18 left. Davet's two free throws started a string of eight straight points for the Eagles, who later built an 83-72 lead with 22 seconds left.

UW-Oshkosh recorded shooting percentages of 37.8 (31-82) from the field, 30.8 (12-39) from behind the 3-point arc and 46.2 (6-13) from the free throw line. The Titans shot 45.2 percent (19-42) from the field in the second half, including 40 percent (8-20) from 3-point range.

Emory University, which had scored 95 or more points in its previous four contests, shot 46.8 percent (29-62) from the field, 45.8 percent (11-24) from behind the 3-point stripe and 66.7 percent (18-27) at the free throw line. The Eagles made 13 of their 28 shots (46.4 percent) from the field in the second half, including 6 of 11 3-point attempts (54.5 percent).

UW-Oshkosh held advantages over Emory University in assists (14-12), turnovers (6-17) and steals (13-2). The Eagles held advantages over the Titans in rebounds (53-37) and blocks (5-3).

UW-Oshkosh remains in Atlanta to play LaGrange College (Ga.) on Sunday (Dec. 30).