Blugolds Hold On To Earn Win Over Titans
UW-Eau Claire's Cole Rabedeaux led all players with 32 points as the Blugolds reclaimed the lead during a long second-half scoring run and held on for a 78-76 win over the UW-Oshkosh men's basketball team Wednesday (Feb. 5) in Kolf Sports Center.
UW-Eau Claire (14-6, 5-4 WIAC) turned a 47-45 deficit into 63-49 lead in a span of less than four minutes. The Blugolds never trailed after taking a 48-47 advantage following Rabedeaux's 3-pointer that sparked their 18-2 run with 18:53 remaining. Leading 77-67 with five minutes left, UW-Eau Claire pulled out the victory despite being held to one point for the remainder of the contest.
UW-Oshkosh (12-8, 6-3 WIAC) scored nine unanswered points to pull within 77-76 after an Adam Fravert dunk with 49 seconds to go. Rabedeaux missed a layup on the ensuing Blugold possession, but UW-Oshkosh missed two shots in the paint of its own before eventually committing a turnover on its next trip down the court. UW-Eau Claire's Spencer Page then split a pair of free throws that created the final score with just under three seconds left, and the Titans committed another turnover in the frontcourt with four-tenths of a second remaining as the Blugolds snapped a four-game losing streak to the Titans and avenged their 82-66 loss against UW-Oshkosh on Jan. 15 in Eau Claire.
UW-Eau Claire moved into a tie for fourth in the WIAC standings with the victory while UW-Oshkosh, the defending NCAA Division III and league champion, fell one spot into a tie for second with UW-Stevens Point (14-6, 6-3 WIAC) with five games remaining.
Rabedeaux shot 10 of 18 from the field, 3-for-5 from 3-point range and 9-for-11 at the free throw line. He added four rebounds, four assists and three steals after entering the night ranked second in the conference at 20.2 points per game.
Page added 20 points on 8-for-12 shooting, including 3-for-6 from beyond the 3-point arc from the floor for the Blugolds, who made 11 of 21 attempts (.524) from 3-point range.
UW-Eau Claire, the conference's top shooting team with a .492 field goal percentage before Wednesday, finished the game 27 of 53 (.509) from the floor and 13 of 19 (.684) at the foul line. The Blugolds held a 7-3 advantage in steals. Both teams had 12 assists, nine turnovers and two blocks.
UW-Oshkosh shot 40.3 percent (25-62) from the field, 37.5 percent (6-16) from beyond the arc and 74.1 percent (20-27) at the free throw line. The Titans, who have now outrebounded 20 of their last 22 opponents, had a 41-27 edge on the boards Wednesday, including 15-1 on the offensive end. UW-Oshkosh went into the contest ranked ninth in the country with a +9.3 average rebounding margin and also led the WIAC in points (84.0), rebounds (41.3) and made 3-pointers (9.4) per game.
Jack Flynn paced the Titans with 25 points, shooting 7-for-16 from the floor and 11 of 13 at the foul line. He collected seven of his eight rebounds on the offensive end. Flynn, who entered the contest with a WIAC-leading .537 field goal percentage, has scored in double figures in seven consecutive games and 73 times during his career as he is now within 16 points of entering UW-Oshkosh's top 10 all-time scorers.
Fravert contributed 18 points, 12 rebounds and three assists for the Titans, who also received 14 points and six rebounds from Levi Borchert. Fravert, the WIAC's leading rebounder at 8.3 per game before Wednesday, went 7 of 14 from the field and 4-for-6 from 3-point range en route to his fifth straight and 22nd career double-double. Borchert shot 6-for-10 from the floor and is now 71 of 104 (.683) from the field this season.
David Vlotho chipped in eight points and five rebounds off the UW-Oshkosh bench.
UW-Oshkosh scored the first five points of the game on a Fravert layup and a Borchert 3-pointer and did not trail until Page buried a 3-pointer for a 22-20 UW-Eau Claire lead at the 10:25 mark of the first half. The Blugolds extended their advantage to 30-25 following Brock Voigt's three-point play before the Titans reclaimed a 45-44 edge at intermission on a 3-pointer from Fravert with under three seconds to go.
Rabedeaux accounted for 11 points during UW-Eau Claire's 18-2 run that spanned from the 19:09 mark of the second half until Flynn scored in the lane to cut the Titans' deficit to 63-51 with 15:35 to play.
Rabedeaux, who scored 16 points in both halves, later hit a pair of free throws to increase the Blugolds' lead to 77-67 with 5:17 remaining. Flynn began the UW-Oshkosh comeback attempt with two free throws before Eddie Muench drove for a layup to pull the Titans within 77-71. Three more Flynn free throws and Fravert's dunk capped the string of nine unanswered points. With a chance to take a lead with under 30 seconds left, Muench and Flynn both missed shots in the lane that were rebounded by the Titans.
Following a UW-Oshkosh timeout with just under 13 seconds remaining, Muench committed a turnover ahead of Page's free throw that represented UW-Eau Claire's only point during the final five minutes. The Blugolds' preceding seven possessions resulted in three missed field goal attempts and four turnovers.
UW-Oshkosh plays at UW-La Crosse on Saturday (Feb. 8). UW-La Crosse (16-4, 5-4 WIAC), which suffered a 79-63 loss at UW-Oshkosh on Jan. 4, is ranked 18th in the nation by D3hoops.com.