The UW Oshkosh men’s basketball team fell to UW-Whitewater 92-79 in the championship game of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) tournament at the Kolf Sports Center Feb. 26.

The Titans (21-6, 13-1 WIAC) were unable to stop the Warhawk offense which shot 50% from the field behind a 29-point performance from forward Trevon Chislom.

UWO’s senior forward Levi Borchert led Oshkosh with 16 points and a game-high 15 rebounds while guard Will Mahoney finished with 16 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Guards Hunter Plamann and Carter Thomas added 13 and 12 points, respectively, for the Titans in the game.

All five starters for UWW (21-7, 9-5 WIAC) were in double-figures led by Chislom, who went 11-of-19 from the field and finished with nine rebounds. Guard Delvin Barnstable scored 18 points and grabbed nine boards while forward Carter Capstran added 13 points and 14 rebounds. Guards Miles Barnstable and Jameer Barker both finished with 14 points for the Warhawks. As a team, Whitewater held the outrebounded UWO 45-35 and held the Titans to 38% shooting from the floor.

Chislom kicked off the scoring with a layup for the first basket of the game for UWW and the teams traded baskets until the Warhawks went on a 6-0 run to go up 10-4 with under 16 minutes to play in the first half. After a timeout, Oshkosh responded with a 10-3 run that gave the Titans a one-point lead after Thomas nailed a 3-pointer. Whitewater retook the lead on its next possession, but the Titans kept the UWW advantage to under five points for most of the first half.

Another Thomas 3-pointer cut the Warhawk lead to two points and Mahoney tied the game with a layup on UWO’s next possession with six minutes to go in the half. A Chislom jumper started a 14-0 run for UWW, which took a 46-32 lead in the final minute of the first half. Plamann hit a 3-pointer with two seconds remaining in the period, and Oshkosh went into halftime trailing 46-35.

The two teams traded baskets for much of the second half until UWO went on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to five points following a Mahoney 3-pointer with 13:34 to go in the game. The Warhawks responded with a 7-2 run to build an 11-point lead midway through the second half. After a timeout, the Titans responded with a 7-2 run of their own, cutting the UWW advantage to four points after a pair of free throws from Eric Peterson. UWO’s hopes of repeating as tournament champs diminished when the Warhawks began to heat up from behind the arc, and a 3-pointer from Capstran brought the UWW to 12 points. Whitewater kept at least a nine-point lead for the remainder of the game, easily cruising to their fifth WIAC tournament title.

Although the Titans fell in the WIAC tournament, they were selected as an at-large team into the 2023 NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship and will host first and second round games.

UWO will take on Fontbonne University (16-11) in the first round of the NCAA tournament at 7:05 p.m. March 3 at the Kolf Sports Center.