Oshkosh, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's basketball team had its five-game winning streak come to an end after a 72-66 loss at fifth-ranked University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Saturday evening at Kolf Sports Center.

The match-up was a first-place showdown in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference as both teams were unbeaten in league play. The loss drops UWL to 12-5 overall and 5-1 in the WIAC while UW-Oshkosh, ranked fifth on this week' D3hoops.com Top-25 Poll, improves to 16-1 overall and 6-0 in league play.

UWO scored on its opening possession on a three-pointer by Connor Duax and would never trail in the contest. The Eagles got on the scoardboard with a three-pointer from Ben Meinholz with 17:24 remaining in the first half. With the score tied at seven, UWO went on a 12-3 run to take a 19-10 lead with 7:46 left in the half. UWL closed the gap to three at 28-25 with 1:16 remaining, but that would be as close as it would get in the opening period as UW-Oshkosh took a 32-27 halftime advantage.  

UWL scored the first four points of the second half on a jumper by Taulvish McCray and a layup by Brendon Manning to pull within 32-31. Leading 41-39, the Titans went on a 9-0 run to take their largest lead (50-39) of the game with 13:21 remaining. A UW-Oshkosh layup with 1:35 remaining put the Titans up 66-58 but UWL would not go away quietly.  Tanner Bruchs hit a three-pointer followed by a Meinholz three-point play to cut the Eagles' deficit to 66-64 with :40 remaining. The Titans would go six-of-six from the free throw line to seal the win.

UWL finished the game shooting 24-of-61 (39.3%) from the floor, including five-of-16 (31.3%) from the three-point line and 13-of-14 (92.9%) at the line. Meinholz led the Eagles with 23 points while McCray finished with 16. Manning recorded a game-high 14 rebounds to go along with eight points.

UW-Oshkosh shot 22-of-56 (39.3%) from the floor, including three-of-19 (15.8%) from the three-point line and 25-of-28 (89.3%) at the free throw line. Jack Flynn led the Titans with 22 points while Brett Wittchow added 17.

UWL returns to action Wednesday, January 23 hosting UW-River Falls at 7 p.m.