WIAC Tournament Title Gains Titans' 10th NCAA Postseason Bid
The reigning NCAA Division III Champion and 2018 runner-up UW-Oshkosh men's basketball team is heading back to the national tournament for the fifth consecutive season.
Levi Borchert and Jack Flynn led all players with 19 points apiece, Adam Fravert recorded a double-double and UW-Oshkosh held on for a 78-72 victory over UW-Eau Claire during the WIAC Championship (presented by Culver's) title game Saturday (Feb. 29) in Kolf Sports Center.
UW-Oshkosh (19-8) reclaimed the lead for good during a 12-0 run that turned a 49-44 deficit with 13:43 remaining into a 56-49 advantage at the 10:52 mark. Borchert and Eddie Muench combined for 10 points in the pivotal Titan run as UW-Eau Claire missed four straight field goal attempts and committed a turnover until Cole Rabedeaux's layup trimmed the Blugolds' deficit to 56-51 with 10:19 to go.
UW-Eau Claire (19-9) pulled within two points on a pair of occasions, including at 60-58 following a Spencer Page jumper with 7:47 left. However, UW-Oshkosh answered with five straight points via a Muench 3-pointer and two Will Mahoney free throws for a 65-58 cushion at the 6:44 mark. Rabedeaux scored in the lane once again to cut the Titans' lead to 73-70 with under three minutes to play, but UW-Oshkosh went 5-for-6 at the free throw line over the final 82 seconds to preserve the victory.
The Blugolds, who were seeking their second conference postseason championship and first since 2001, missed three of its last four shots from the floor and committed one turnover after Rabedeaux's layup with 2:57 remaining.
With the win UW-Oshkosh earns the WIAC's automatic berth into the 64-team Division III Championship that begins Friday (March 6). The Titans will learn their NCAA first round opponent and venue during an online selection show at 11:30 a.m. Monday (March 2).
UW-Oshkosh, which will be making its 10th trip to the NCAA postseason, clinched the fourth WIAC Championship crown in program history. The Titans also won the league tournament in 2002, 2003 and 2016. UW-Oshkosh secured its first national title last season with a 96-82 triumph over Swarthmore College (Pa.) after falling to Nebraska Wesleyan University by a 78-72 score in the 2018 Division III championship game.
Borchert, who boasts a WIAC-leading .667 field goal percentage this season, finished one point shy of his season high after shooting 7-for-10 from the floor and 4-for-4 at the free throw line while collecting nine rebounds.
Flynn added eight rebounds on the way to scoring in double figures for the 23rd time this year and 80th in his career. Ranked 10th on UW-Oshkosh's career scoring list, Flynn now has 1,513 points in his four seasons with the Titans.
Fravert had 16 points and a season-high 14 rebounds for his conference-best 12th double-double of the year and 26th career. He paces the conference with 8.7 rebounds per game.
Muench also finished one point shy of a season high with 15 points, including 12 in the second half, while Will Mahoney chipped in seven points off the UW-Oshkosh bench.
UW-Oshkosh went 25 of 62 (.403) from the field, 5-for-16 (.313) from 3-point range and 23 of 27 (.852) at the free throw line. The Titans, who owned a commanding advantage of 48-22 in rebounds and 18-2 in offensive boards, went into Saturday leading the conference in scoring (82.2), average rebounding margin (+9.5), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.18) and per-game rebounds (42.0), assists (14.0) and blocks (3.5).
UW-Eau Claire shot 46.7 percent (28-60) from the floor, 37.5 percent (6-16) from beyond the 3-point arc and 90.9 percent (10-11) at the foul line. The Blugolds had edges of 6-4 in assists, 6-12 in turnovers, 7-2 in steals and 5-1 in blocks. UW-Eau Claire went into the night with a conference-leading .485 field goal percentage.
Page paced four UW-Eau Claire double digit scorers with 17 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the floor, including 3-for-6 from 3-point range.
Cam Kuepers had 16 points for the Blugolds while Rabedeaux and Blake Wacholz added 15 and 10, respectively. Rabedeaux led the team with five rebounds and three assists. Wacholz registered two steals to increase his WIAC-leading total to 50 on the year.
UW-Eau Claire raced out to an 8-3 lead during the first four minutes before UW-Oshkosh scored on five straight possessions to claim a 14-10 advantage. Fravert grabbed an offensive rebound and scored in the lane with 14:40 left in the first half to provide the Titans a 9-8 lead they would not relinquish until the 15:57 mark of the second period.
The Titans led by as many as 11 points during the opening period, building a 25-14 advantage following a Borchert layup with 6:58 to go before halftime. The Blugolds later scored eight unanswered points to pull within 28-26 and went into intermission with a 34-31 deficit.
The Blugolds went on a 7-0 run to reclaim a 47-42 lead with 14:48 to go and led, 49-44, at the 14:00 mark before Borchert and Muench spearheaded the Titans' string of 12 consecutive points. Flynn sparked the decisive run with a short jumper. A Muench jumper pulled UW-Oshkosh within 49-48, and Borchert drilled his fourth 3-pointer of the season that gave the Titans the lead to stay at 51-49 with 12:10 left. Borchert and Muench then capped the run with a layup apiece for a 56-49 advantage.
UW-Oshkosh has won 13 of its last 16 meetings with UW-Eau Claire. The Titans won the first matchup between the teams this season, 82-66, Jan. 15 in Eau Claire. The Blugolds then even the series after slipping past the Titans, 78-76, Feb. 5 in Oshkosh.
The Titans, who were playing in their seventh conference tournament final, improved to 22-14 in league postseason play while UW-Eau Claire, which reached its third final, fell to 11-14 in the WIAC Championship.
UW-Oshkosh, which enters the national tournament with a season-best seven-game winning streak, and UW-Eau Claire met for the sixth time in the conference postseason. The Titans have won each of the past four WIAC postseason games against the Blugolds, including a 77-66 decision during the teams' most recent matchup during the 2016 semifinals. UW-Eau Claire's last league tournament win over UW-Oshkosh was a 76-63 home victory in the 2001 championship game.