Oshkosh, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse men's basketball team fell, 91-88, at 19th-ranked UW-Oshkosh Saturday night in Kolf Sports Center. The Eagles, receiving votes on this week's D3hoops.com Top-25 Poll, drop to 18-6 overall and 9-4 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). The Titans, ranked 19th on D3hoops.com, improve to 19-5 overall and 12-1 in the conference. With the win, UW-Oshkosh secures the league's regular-season title.
Jake Gross had 10 points off the bench.
The game was tied eight times in the first half. UW-Oshkosh took a 19-18 lead with 12:10 left on a Hunter Plamann three-pointer, but UWL went on a 9-1 run to take a 27-20 lead.
Austin Westra had six points in the run, including a three-pointer with 10:35 remaining to give the Eagles their seven-point lead.
Henry Noone also hit a three-point field goal in the run.
UWL led, 34-28, with 7:13 left after a
Jake Gross three-pointer, but UW-Oshkosh used a 9-3 run to force a 37-37 tie with 2:25 remaining on Eric Peterson's three-point play. Gross' layup with :12 left gave UWL a 45-44 lead, but Levi Borchert converted a layup at the buzzer to give UW-Oshkosh a 46-45 halftime lead.
The contest was tied, 58-58, with 13:05 remaining on UWL's
Ethan Anderson's jumper. Quinn Steckbauer gave UW-Oshkosh a two-point lead on a pair of free throws and Borchert and Will Mahoney each had a layup to give the Titans a 64-58 lead.
Craig Steele hit back-to-back three-pointers to force a 66-66 tie with 9:09 left and UWL completed a 10-0 run to take a 70-66 lead on
JJ Paider's layup with 7:55 remaining. Mahoney later converted a three-point field goal with 5:20 left to force a 74-74 tie.
After a UWL missed jumper, Plamann's layup gave UW-Oshkosh a 76-74 advantage with 4:43 remaining. The Titans would not trail the rest of the game. The Eagles cut the deficit to 80-78 with 2:06 left on a
Will Fuhrmann layup, but Plamann's three-pointer and Mahoney's free throw gave the Titans a 84-78 lead. Steckbauer went four-of-four at the free throw line as UW-Oshkosh took a 88-82 lead, but Steele hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to 88-85 with :20 remaining. Borchert made one-of-two at the line with :14 left and Gross' three-pointer for UWL cut the lead to 89-88 with :07 remaining. Mahoney was fouled with :02 left and made both free throws for the final margin.
UWL shot 50.0% from the field on Saturday, including 45.8% (11-of-24) from three-point range, and 78.6% (11-of-14) at the free throw line. Westra led four players in double figures with 17 points, going six-of-nine from the field, including one-of-one from three-point range, and four-of-four at the line. Paider finished with 12 points while Steele totaled 11 and Gross 10.
Dustin Derousseau and
Torin Hannah each had eight points with Derousseau totaling a team-high six rebounds.
Dustin Derousseau had eight points and six rebounds.
UW-Oshkosh shot 49.1% from the field, including 38.1% (eight-of-21) from three-point range, and 77.5% (31-of-40) at the line. Plamman led the Titans with 25 points while Borchert finished with 24 and Mahoney 22. Borchert recorded a double-double with a game-high 11 rebounds.
UWL returns to action Wednesday, February 15 hosting UW-River Falls at 7 p.m. in the regular-season finale. It will be Senior Night.
