Titans Advance to Third WIAC Championship Game in Five Years
OSHKOSH, Wis.- With an 82-62 win over UW-Eau Claire on Friday night in Kolf Sports Center, the UW-Oshkosh men's basketball team will advance to their third WIAC Championship game in five years.
First Half Summary
Senior guard Eric Peterson scored the first points of the game, 18 seconds after tipoff, kicking off an 18-0 run by the Titans. Six Titans scored in the run, led by senior forward Levi Borchert with seven points. Largely trading points for the rest of the half, Oshkosh led 40-25 at the half.
First Half Leaders
Oshkosh shot 55.2 percent (16-of-29) from the field, 46.2 percent (six-of-13) from three and 33.3 percent (two-of-six) from the line. Borchert led all scorers with 11 points, going four-of-six from the field, one-of-one from three and two-of-three from the line. Peterson led all players with seven rebounds (one offensive) and sophomore forward Jonah Rindfleisch three blocks.
Eau Claire shot 35.5 percent (11-of-31) from the field, 18.2 percent (two-of-11) from three and 50.0 percent (one-of-two) from the line. Three Blugolds scored five points and senior forward Brock Voigt led Eau Claire with six rebounds (three offensive).
Second Half Summary
Rindfleisch opened second half scoring with a layup 13 seconds into the half. Eau Claire's 6-0 run was eliminated by two separate 6-0 runs by the Titans with the rest of the half spent trading points. By the time the game ended, Oshkosh held a 20-point lead over the Blugolds.
Full Game Leaders
The Titans finished the game shooting 51.6 percent (32-of-62) from the field, 36.0 percent (nine-of-25) from three and 56.3 percent (nine-of-16) from the line. Borchert recorded his 14th double-double of the season, scoring 22 points and recording 15 rebounds (seven offensive). He shot nine-of-12 from the field, one-of-one from three and three-of-five from the line. Senior guard Will Mahoney led the bench with 18 points and senior guard Hunter Plamann recorded five assists.
The Blugolds finished shooting 42.9 percent (27-of-63) from the field, 15.0 percent (three-of-20) from three and 45.5 percent (five-of-11) from the line. Three Eau Claire players scored 12 points. Voigt finished the game with 10 rebounds (five offensive).
Looking Forward
The Titans return to action on Sunday, February 26 to face UW-Whitewater at home at 1 p.m. in the WIAC Championship matchup.