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Levi Borchert had 10 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals against the Warhawks.
Levi Borchert had 10 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals against the Warhawks.

Titans Earn WIAC Tournament Bye With Win Over Warhawks

Box Score

Adam Fravert led five UW-Oshkosh double-digit scorers with 19 points as the Titan men's basketball team never trailed on the way to an 86-65 victory over UW-Whitewater on Wednesday (Feb. 19) in Kolf Sport Center.

UW-Oshkosh (16-8, 10-3 WIAC), which earned its fifth straight win over UW-Whitewater, reclaimed the lead for good at 5-3 on a Fravert layup with 16:36 left in the first half. The Titans then scored 11 unanswered points for a 23-10 advantage at the 9:15 mark of the opening period and led by double figures the rest of the way.

With the victory UW-Oshkosh clinches the second seed for the six-team WIAC Championship that commences with first round games Tuesday (Feb. 25). The Titans, who will receive a bye in the first round of the league tournament, will host a semifinal contest Feb. 27 in Kolf Sports Center.

UW-Platteville (21-3, 11-2 WIAC), ranked seventh in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, secured the top seed for the league's postseason tournament with one game remaining. UW-Oshkosh would share the WIAC title with a win at UW-River Falls along with a UW-Platteville loss at UW-Stevens Point during the regular season finales Saturday (Feb. 22). The reigning Division III and WIAC champion Titans are seeking back-to-back conference titles for the first time since the 1967-68 campaign.

UW-Oshkosh's 21-point win over UW-Whitewater was its largest in the series since downing the Warhawks, 83-60, on Feb. 22, 1975. The Titans won this season's first meeting between the teams by a 73-71 score Jan. 25 in Whitewater.

Fravert, the WIAC's leading rebounder at 8.3 per game, shot 5-for-9 from the field and 8-for-9 at the free throw line en route to pacing the Titans in scoring for the 14th time this season. He added six rebounds and three assists.

Jack Flynn had 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the floor and grabbed a team-leading eight rebounds for the Titans, who also received 14 points and a team-best three steals from Eddie Muench, 12 points from Will Mahoney, and 10 points and seven rebounds from Levi Borchert. Flynn matched his conference-leading average with three offensive rebounds. Borchert went 4-for-9 from the floor and still paces the WIAC with a .679 field goal percentage.

UW-Oshkosh, which scored at least 80 points for the 15th time on the year, has now featured five or more double-digit scorers on seven occasions this season.

UW-Oshkosh went 29 of 56 (.518) from the field, 7-for-20 (.350) from 3-point range and 21 of 27 (.778) at the free throw line. The Titans, who shot 50 percent or better from the field for the second straight game and 11th time overall this season, held advantages of 39-23 in rebounds, 15-12 in assists and 4-3 in blocks. Both teams committed 14 turnovers.

UW-Whitewater (7-17, 2-11 WIAC), which remained in seventh in the league standings after suffering its fifth consecutive loss, shot 47.3 percent (26-55) from the floor, 45 percent (9-20) from beyond the 3-point arc and 40 percent (4-10) at the foul line. The Warhawks had a 10-7 edge in steals.

The Warhawks' Equan Ards, the WIAC's second best scorer at 19.9 points per game before Saturday, led all players with 25 points on 11 of 21 shooting from the field. He also contributed five rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Trevon Chislom added 10 points and three steals off the UW-Whitewater bench while Warhawks starter Breontae Hunt had eight points and a team-leading six rebounds, and Brian Conaghan dished out a team-best five assists.

UW-Oshkosh went into Saturday leading the WIAC in scoring (82.7); rebounds (42.0), assists (14.0) and blocks (3.4) per game; average rebounding margin (+8.7); and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.18). UW-Whitewater, which entered the day ranked 412th among 416 teams in the division with 108 made 3-pointers, connected on at least nine 3-pointers for just the third time this year.

The Titans' decisive 11-0 run during the first half featured five points by Borchert and two each from Flynn, Fravert and Muench. Flynn's layup extended the UW-Oshkosh lead to 23-10 with less than 10 minutes remaining in the first half. UW-Whitewater's scoreless drought, which included five missed field goals and four turnovers, lasted for nearly six minutes until a David Grintjes layup cut the Warhawks' deficit to 23-12 at the 7:37 mark of the opening period.

Fravert later hit a pair of free throws to provide the Titans a 43-29 lead at intermission.

UW-Oshkosh owned a lead of at least 15 points for the final 19:46 of the game. The second of two Flynn dunks in the game upped the Titans' lead to 46-29 early in the second half, and a Muench layup increased UW-Oshkosh's cushion to 50-30 with 16:42 left in the game. UW-Oshkosh owned its largest lead of 26 points at 86-60 following a Jake Zeitler 3-pointer with 81 seconds to play.

The Titans close out the regular season at UW-River Falls on Saturday. UW-Oshkosh have won five straight games over UW-River Falls, including an 89-62 victory Jan. 18 in Oshkosh.