Titans Season Ends In Elite Eight Loss
ALLIANCE, Ohio- The UW-Oshkosh men's basketball team's postseason run ended on Saturday with an Elite Eight loss to the University of Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio, finishing their season with a 24-7 overall record. It was the Titans' fourth trip to the Elite 8 and third in the last five years, previously going in 2003, 2018 and 2019.
First Half Summary
Oshkosh tied the game twice early at 2-2 and 4-4 before the Raiders scored seven-straight to take an 11-4 lead with 13:57 left in the first half. The Titans went on a 7-0 run between 8:28 and 7:18, bringing the score within one, but couldn't take the lead. Neither team scored more than five-straight the rest of the half with the score sitting at 35-26 at the half.
First Half Leaders
The Titans shot 34.4 percent (11-of-32) from the field, 30.0 (three-of-10) from three and 14.3 percent (one-of-seven) from the line in the first half. Senior forward Levi Borchert led all scorers with nine points and eight rebounds (seven offensive). He went four-of-10 from the field and one-of-four from the line.
The Raiders shot 45.2 percent (14-of-31) from the field, 38.5 percent (five-of-13) from three and 50.0 percent (two-of-four) from the line. Senior guard Jeffery Mansfield led the team with eight points, going three-of-six from the field and two-of-two from the line. Junior forward Christian Parker recorded six rebounds (one offensive) and four blocks.
Second Half Summary
Senior guard Quinn Steckbauer started second half scoring with a three 19 seconds into the half, pulling the score to 35-28. Mount Union scored seven-straight between 7:39 and 6:25 to increase their lead to 61-48. Two threes from junior guard Cole Booth and senior guard Hunter Plamann brought the score within seven, and two made free throws from Borchert brought it within four with 2:16 to play, but a 7-0 run by the Raiders kept the game at least a two-possession game the rest of the time. Mount Union made five free throws at the end of the game, taking a final lead of 78-67.
Full Game Leaders
Oshkosh finished the game shooting 36.5 percent (23-of-63) from the field, 26.9 percent (seven-of-26) from three and 56.0 percent (14-of-25) from the line. Borchert led with 19 points and 14 rebounds (eight offensive) for his 42nd career double-double. Plamann scored 11 as a starter and Booth led the bench with 14 points.
Mount Union finished shooting 42.2 percent (27-of-64) from the field, 33.3 percent (eight-of-24) from three and 61.5 percent (16-of-26) from the line. Parker paced all scorers with 26 points, going eight-of-17 from the field, two-of-four from three and eight-of-12 from the line, also recording 11 rebounds (three offensive). Mansfield (14), senior guard Collen Gurley (12) and graduate student forward Braedon Poole (10) also reach double digit points. Mansfield recorded six assists and Parker blocked five shots.