Titans Survive Thriller to Advance to Sweet Sixteen; Peterson and Lewis Reach 100 Wins
OSHKOSH, Wis.- With 35 combined points from senior forward Levi Borchert and senior guard Will Mahoney, the UW-Oshkosh men's basketball team defeated Hope College (Mich.) at Kolf Sports Center in the Second Round of the 2023 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament.
First Half Summary
The Flying Dutchmen climbed to an early 13-8 lead and kept it until Mahoney made a three with 11:06 left in the first half to take a 17-16 lead. The Titans scored four more points before Hope scored again. Mahoney's layup at 4:39 caused an eruption of cheers from behind their bench, capping off a 7-0 run. The teams traded small runs the rest of the half with the score sitting at 30-26 at the buzzer. Neither team recorded a free throw in the first half.
First Half Leaders
Oshkosh shot 42.4 percent (14-of-33) from the field and 16.7 percent (two-of-12) from three in the first half, led by Mahoney with 12 points. He shot five-of-eight from the field and two-of-five from three to lead all scorers. Borchert scored 10 points of his own, also leading all players with six rebounds (two offensive). The Titans recorded a combined four steals in the half.
Hope shot 35.5 percent (11-of-31) from the field and 25.0 percent (four-of-16) from three. The Flying Dutchmen were led by senior forward Evan Thomas with nine points, going four-of-11 from the field and one-of-four from three. Two Hope players recorded four rebounds.
Second Half Summary
Thomas sunk a three to open second half scoring, followed by four more Flying Dutchmen points to retake the lead at 34-30 with 18:21 remaining. The lead did not change until Borchert put a layup in to tie the game at 39. Mahoney made yet another three to give Oshkosh the final lead with 13:27 on the clock. The Titans increased their lead to as much as five points, but Hope would not quit and forced a competitive game to the last second. Down 51-50 with game clock at two seconds, Thomas lost his defender to put up a jumper. The ball bounced off the rim and away from the net as time expired.
Full Game Leaders
The Titans finished the thriller with a 34.9 shooting percentage from the field (22-of-63), a 20.8 shooting percentage from three (five-of-24) and a 50.0 shooting percentage from the line (two-of-four). Mahoney paced all scorers with a season high 23 points, going nine-of-18 from the field and five-of-12 from three. Borchert recorded a 12-point, 11-rebound (five offensive) double-double. Freshman guard Carter Thomas made both of his free throw attempts on the night.
With the win, the Titans advance to their fifth Sweet Sixteen in program history.
The Flying Dutchmen went 35.6 percent (21-of-59) from the field, 25.9 percent (seven-of-27) from three and 50.0 percent (one-of-two) from the line. Evan Thomas finished with 14 points, going six-of-16 from the field and two-of-six from three. Sophomore center Gabe Quillan led Hope with 10 rebounds (five offensive). He and senior guard Clayton Dykhouse both scored double-digit points with 11 and 13, respectively.
Looking Forward
Oshkosh will return to action on Friday March 10 to face Rowan University (N.J.) in Mount Union, Ohio at 3:45 p.m. CT. The Profs reached the Sweet Sixteen with an 83-77 win over Cal Lutheran University (Calif.) in the First Round and an 83-72 win over Utica University (N.Y.) in the Second Round.
New 100 Career Win Club Members
With the win on Saturday, Eric Peterson joined the 100-career win club. The fifth-year senior has been with the team since the 2018-19 season, starting in 92 of his 124 games played. Head coach Matt Lewis has also reach 100 career wins having taken over as the head coach the same year Peterson was a freshman.
The post-game press conference can be found here.