Titans Open BSN Winter Classic With Win
OSHKOSH, Wis.- The No. 19 nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh men's basketball team defeated the Ohio Wesleyan University Battling Bishops Thursday night in their first game of the BSN Winter Classic, hosted at the Oshkosh Arena. The Titans rose to a 9-3 (2-0 WIAC) record while the Bishops fell to an 8-4 (3-1 North Coast Athletic Conference) record.
First Half Summary
Hunter Plamann scored the first basket of the game, easily losing his defender to sink an open jump shot from within the arc. After Ohio Wesleyan followed up with a basket of their own, the Titans scored seven straight to take a 10-2 lead with 16:12 remaining in the first half. An Eric Peterson layup later gave Oshkosh a 12-point lead, but the Bishops slowly closed the lead, climbing to a one-point deficit twice before ending the half trailing the Titans 26-23.
First Half Leaders
Oshkosh shot 40.7 percent from the field, 25.0 percent from three and 27.3 percent from the line in the first half, being led by Peterson. He scored seven points, going three-of-four from the field and one-of-four from the line, also recording five rebounds (one offensive) to lead the team.
Ohio Wesleyan went 32.3 percent from the field, 12.5 percent from three and 100 percent from the line in the first half. Three Bishops were tied with six points in the half. Jack Clement led the team with four rebounds (two offensive), David Rice recorded three steals and Grant Spicer recorded three blocks.
Second Half Summary
Peterson scored the first bucket about 40 seconds into the second half, but two layups and a three from Clement quickly tied it up at 30. Oshkosh and Ohio Wesleyan stayed within five points of each other into the final 10 minutes of the game, with Quinn Steckbauer giving the Titans a seven-point lead at the 8:14 mark. It wasn't until there was 4:00 left that the Titans got their first double digit lead of the night. Levi Borchert made a layup in the middle of an 11-0 run to make the score 57-47. The run ended with another Borchert layup to make the score 62-47. Ohio Welsyean scored the final four points of the game, but it was not enough to take down the Titans. The game ended with a final score of 64-52.
Game Leaders
Over the course of the night, Oshkosh shot 46.7 percent from the field, 16.7 percent from three and 28.6 percent from the line. Borchert scored 16 points, going seven-of-13 from the field and two-of-seven from the line. Cole Booth, another starter, scored 10 points of his own and Steckbauer led the bench with 10 points. Borchert and Peterson each recorded eight rebounds. Plamann and Booth finished the game with four assists a piece.
Ohio Welsyean went 36.5 percent from the field, 27.8 percent from three and 75.0 percent from the line. Clement was their top scorer, finishing with 20 points off eight-of-19 from the field, two-of-five from three and two-of-two from the line. He also recorded the most rebounds on the team (six total, two offensive).
Other Men's Winter Classic Game
In the other men's matchup on Thursday, Marian University (Wis.) faced off against UW-Eau Claire at 5:30 p.m. in the Oshkosh Arena. The Sabres fell to the Blugolds, 76-41. Tyler Gouin led Marian with 10 points, shooting three-of-11 from the field and four-of-seven from the line. William White was the top rebounder, pulling in seven (four offensive).
Looking Forward
The Titans will take on Marian University (Wis.) on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the Oshkosh Arena.
More information can be found on the tournament page.
Tickets for Dec. 30 can be found here.