La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's basketball team fell 61-55 to UW-Oshkosh Wednesday night in Mitchell Hall. The Eagles drop to 10-8 overall and 2-5 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) while the Titans improve to 11-7 overall and 4-3 in the conference. UW-Oshkosh earned its third straight win over UWL.
UWL never trailed in the first half, leading 15-9 with 3:19 remaining after a
Ryan Kruser jumper. The Eagles led 20-13 when the Titans' Ben Boots hit a three-pointer with :01 left to cut the halftime lead to 20-16.
UW-Oshkosh took its first lead of the game at 27-25 with 16:42 remaining on Brett Wittchow's layup. UWL tied the game at 27-27 with 16:20 left on a pair of
Zach Schradle free throws, but UW-Oshkosh went on an 13-3 run to lead 40-30 with 13:16 remaining. A Schradle jumper with 12:51 left cut the margin to 40-32, but a Kyle Beyak jumper and Boots' three-pointer gave the Titans a 45-32 advantage with 11:18 left.
The Eagles trailed 50-40 with 7:43 remaining when they used a 11-4 run to cut it to 54-51 with 1:22 left on
Kenny Finco's jumper. Charlie Noone hit a three-pointer for UW-Oshkosh to make 57-51, but back-to-back layups from
Ben Meinholz and Kruser cut the lead to 57-55 with :22 remaining. After a missed UW-Oshkosh free throw, Meinholz missed a potential game-tying layup with :11 remaining. Boots made four free throws in the final :07.
Ben Meinholz finished with 13 points, four rebounds and three steals.
UWL shot 40.4% from the field, including 28.6% (two-of-seven) from three-point range, and 68.8% (11-of-16) at the free throw line. After shooting 23.1% (six-of-26) from the field in the first half, the Eagles shot 57.7% (15-of-26) in the second half. Schradle recorded his ninth double-double of the season, finishing with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Meinholz finished with 13 points while Finco added 10. Schradle and Meinholz each had a team-leading three steals.
UW-Oshkosh also shot 40.4% from the field, including 42.9% (nine-of-21) from three-point range, and 83.3% (10-of-12) at the line. The Titans also shot 23.1% (six-of-26) from the field in the first 20 minutes and 57.7% (15-of-26) in the second half. Boots led four players in double figures with 16 points while Noone, Max Schebel and David Vlotho each had 11. Schebel had a team-leading eight rebounds.
UWL returns to action Saturday, January 28 hosting 24th-ranked UW-Whitewater at 5 p.m. on Alumni Day.
