Season Best 16 Threes Lead Titans Over Profs, Oshkosh Headed to Elite Eight

ALLIANCE, Ohio- With a season-high 16 made threes and 40 points off the bench, the UW-Oshkosh men's basketball team is headed to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight for the fourth time in program history and the third time in five tournaments after defeating Rowan University (N.J.) on Friday afternoon. 

First Half Summary

Senior guard Hunter Plamann quickly knocked down a three 11 seconds after the Titans won the tip to start a trend of threes Friday afternoon. Two free throws from Plamann put Oshkosh up 5-0 before Rowan got on the board. After the Profs fought back and tied the game at 13, Oshkosh scored 10 in a row, led by sophomore forward Jonah Rindfleisch with four. The Titans led by as much as 13 in the half, but an 8-0 run by Rowan put the score at 39-34 when the halftime buzzer sounded.

First Half Leaders

Oshkosh shot 44.8 percent (13-of-29) from the field, 53.8 percent (seven-of-13) from three and 75.0 percent (six-of-eight) from the line. Junior guard Cole Booth led the Titans with nine points, going three-of-four from the field including three-of-three from three. Senior guard Eric Peterson paced all players with six rebounds and Rindfleisch recorded two blocks.

Rowan shot 42.9 percent (12-of-28) from the field, 30.0 percent (three-of-10) from three and 87.5 percent (seven-of-eight) from the line. Junior forward Ja'Zere Noel led all scorers with 14 points, going five-of-seven from the field, two-of-four from three and two-of-two from the line. He also recorded five rebounds (one offensive). 

Second Half Summary

Senior guard D'Andre Vilmar scored first in the second half for the Profs to cut the score to 39-36, but Peterson responded with a three to give Oshkosh an early second half lead. After Peterson recorded a steal, the teams scored in the next nine combined possessions. The score then sat at 53-45 with 16:43 left in the game. Junior guard Damian Smith brought the game within one at 12:17, but Oshkosh followed with an 11-0 run, making the score 70-58. Mahoney scored five of the team's 11 points during the run. Neither team scored more than five straight the rest of the way, but the Titans nevertheless held a 19-point, 91-72 lead by the final buzzer.

Full Game Leaders

After 40 minutes, the Titans were shooting 52.3 percent (34-of-65) from the field, 55.2 percent (16-of-29) from three and 63.6 percent (seven-of-11) from the line. Their 16 made threes were a season high. Mahoney led all scorers with 22 points, going nine-of-16 from the field and four-of-eight from three. Plamann (16), Booth (14) and Steckbauer (13) also scored double-digit points. The bench scored 40 of Oshkosh's 91 points. Peterson paced all players with 13 rebounds (one offensive). Borchert recorded seven assists while scoring nine points and recording six rebounds. Oshkosh now has a 26-4 record on the year, the second-most single season wins during head coach Matt Lewis' tenure (29 in 2019). 

The Profs finished the game shooting 48.1 percent (26-of-54) from the field, 36.8 percent (seven-of-19) from three and 68.4 percent (13-of-19) from the line. Noel led the Profs with 20 points, going eight-of-13 from the field, two-of-five from three and two-of-two from the line. He also led with six rebounds (one offensive). Junior forward Andrew Seager (16) and Vilmar (10) both also scored double-digit points. 

Looking Forward

The Titans will return to action on Saturday to face the University of Mount Union (Ohio) at 6:45 p.m. in Alliance, Ohio. The Raiders reached the Elite Eight by defeating Anderson University (Ind.) 73-65 in the First Round, Lancaster Bible College (Pa.) 90-66 in the Second Round and overcame an 11-point deficit to beat North Park University (Ill.) 102-85 in the Sweet Sixteen on Friday night. The Raiders shot 54.1 percent (33-of-61) from the field, 45.5 percent (10-of-22) from three and 78.8 percent (26-of-33) from the line, led by senior guard Jeffery Mansfield with 24 points. He went six-of-12 from the field, three-of-five from three and nine-of-10 from the line. Four more Raiders scored at least 10 points and two recorded eight rebounds. Mansfield recorded six assists and stole three balls and junior forward Christan Parker blocked four shots.