We’re talkin’ about playoffs!

Cory Sparks, Sports Editor

The Titans Men’s Basketball won their first game of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) playoffs against UW-Stout in an offensive showcase winning 98-89.

Katie Pulvermacher / Advance-Titan
Sophomore forward Levi Borchert (pictured) put up a career high 21 points behind junior guard Hunter Plamann’s season high 27 points in UWO’s 98-89 victory over UWS.

The Titans, ranked ninth, shot a phenomenal 60% from the floor. A big chunk of the offense came from junior guard Hunter Plamann, who scored 27 points in the contest.

Plamann credits his teammates for scoring success on such a hot night saying, “Credit to my teammates, on any night anyone on our team could have the hot hand,” Plamann said.

Plamann was not the only hot hand of the game as sophomore forward Levi Borchert tallied 21 points in the game, Will Mahoney added another 17, Eddie Muench had 15 and Eric Peterson added 9.

The Titans head on the road Wednesday to take on UW-La Crosse in La Crosse. Plamann made it very clear that if the team can maintain their identity, they’ll come out on top.

“We just need to be ourselves and do what we have to do to win,” Plamann said.

In typical years, WIAC playoff games would be loud and rowdy venues and places like La Crosse would not be an ideal place to play a game for the Titans.

Plamann stated that with no fans at games, there is a streetball vibe each time.

“Playing on the road with no fans to me personally doesn’t really make a difference because in a way it just feels like a pick up basketball game,” Plamann said.

As the season nears closing, the Titans have their eyes focused on the top prize which is the WIAC crown. Plamann, along with his teammates have been preparing for the WIAC Tournament since long before the WIAC announced that there would be a season.

“It would be awesome, we have been practicing for about 5 months now and winning the WIAC right now is the goal,” Plamann said.

This is do or die time for the Titans as they look to take on the no. 14 ranked Eagles in a true WIAC show down.

The Eagles are led by the dynamic duo of Ethan Anderson who averaged 17.2 points during the regular season and Wyatt Cook who averaged 17 points per game in the regular season.
Anderson was a key scorer in the Eagles first win of the WIAC Tournament as he put up 31 in a 76-68 victory over UW-Stevens Point.

The Titans will have a hill to climb Wednesday night, but as we’ve seen in the past they have overcome challenges time and time again. Plamann and his teammates will take the court in Mitchell Hall at 7 p.m. for the WIAC semifinal.