Titans' Home Opener Results In Defeat Of Defending Conference Champion
The UW-Oshkosh men's basketball team reclaimed the lead for good late in the first half and cruised to a 77-68 victory over UW-Platteville on Friday (Feb. 5) in Kolf Sports Center.
UW-Oshkosh, the defending Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament champion, took a 24-23 lead it would not relinquish with 7:40 left in the opening period during the midst of a 20-5 scoring run.
Reigning WIAC regular season champion UW-Platteville raced out to a 15-6 advantage and owned an 18-11 lead at the 12:21 mark of the first half, but the Titans responded with 20 of the next 25 points during a span of more than seven minutes. UW-Oshkosh tied the score at 18 on an Eddie Muench 3-pointer, took its first lead at 21-20 on a 3-pointer from Will Mahoney and never trailed after Eric Peterson's 3-pointer that provided the Titans a 24-23 edge.
UW-Oshkosh's 20-5 run continued with consecutive layups by Cole Booth, Muench and Mahoney during a 50-second stretch, and the Titans extended their lead to 31-23 on a Muench free throw with 5:09 remaining in the first half.
UW-Oshkosh (1-1, 1-1 WIAC) went on to lead, 40-29, at intermission and maintained at least a four-point cushion the entire second half en route to avenging an 88-75 loss at UW-Platteville on Wednesday (Feb. 3) in the season opener.
Peterson paced a balanced Titan offense with 17 points on 6-for-7 shooting from the field, including 4-for-5 from 3-point range, to go along with eight rebounds.
Mahoney added 16 points, five rebounds and four assists for UW-Oshkosh, which also received 11 points apiece from Muench and Levi Borchert, a career-best eight from reserve Nick Otto, and six from both Hunter Plamann and Quinn Steckbauer.
Borchert, the 2020 WIAC Newcomer of the Year, had a career-high 14 rebounds for his first double-double of the year and fifth during his two seasons as a Titan.
UW-Oshkosh shot 42.1 percent (24-57) from the field, 47.8 percent (11-23) from beyond the 3-point arc and 72 percent (18-25) at the free throw line. The Titans, who owned advantages of 45-35 in rebounds and 16-10 in assists, have made 23 3-pointers during their two games this season.
Justin Stovall and Quentin Shields led UW-Platteville with 18 and 17 points, respectively, while Kyle Tuma chipped in eight. Stovall, who shot 8-for-11 from the floor, grabbed a team-best eight rebounds and blocked four shots.
UW-Platteville (1-1, 1-1 WIAC) went 26 of 69 (37.7 percent) from the field, 5-for-29 (17.2 percent) from 3-point range and 11 of 14 (78.6 percent) at the foul line. The Pioneers held edges of 10-18 in turnovers, 9-5 in steals and 5-3 in blocks. UW-Platteville made its fewest 3-pointers since also knocking down five during a 77-60 win over UW-Whitewater on Feb. 13, 2019, and had its lowest 3-point percentage since going 3-for-19 (.158) in a 71-55 loss to Saint John's University (Minn.) on Nov. 17, 2018.
The Titans' game-changing 20-5 scoring run featured seven points from Mahoney, six by Muench, five from Peterson and two by Booth. UW-Platteville shot just 2-for-11 from the field and committed three turnovers during the UW-Oshkosh run.
Leading 31-28 with 2:52 left in the first half, UW-Oshkosh closed the period with nine of the next 10 points, including five from Otto and four by Steckbauer.
The Titans later built their largest cushion of 15 points at 65-50 following a Peterson 3-pointer with 7:49 to play as UW-Oshkosh led by at least seven points for the last 10:46 of the game.
UW-Oshkosh remains at home to play UW-Whitewater (1-1, 1-1 WIAC) on Wednesday (Feb. 10) in Kolf Sports Center.
Postgame Interview (Ricky Nelson) With UW-Oshkosh Head Men's Basketball Coach Matt Lewis
Photo by Steve Frommell, UW-Oshkosh Athletics