The UW Oshkosh men’s basketball team took the final spot in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament with a 75-51 victory over UW-Stout, but the Titans fell in the first round of the tournament to UW-Eau Claire 66-56 on the road Feb. 24.
UWO (13-13) went 39.3% from the field and 25% from 3-point range. In a game dominated by Oshkosh’s starters, 28 points came in the paint and 20 were scored off turnovers.
Joey LaChapell, the WIAC leader in 3-point percentage, scored 14 points on the night. After recording two points in the first half on a pair of free throws, he added 12 in the second including three more shots from the charity stripe. His streak of consecutive made free throws ended at 53 on Wednesday night after not missing a shot from the line since Oshkosh’s Jan. 8 contest at Eau Claire.
Carter Thomas went 5-of-13 from the field with a pair of threes and added a free throw for 13 points while Jonah Rindfleisch turned in an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Oshkosh scored the first five points of the game as Rindfleisch hit a 3-pointer and Brandon Beck made a layup in the first two-and-a-half minutes of play. Eau Claire responded with 15 straight points, leading 15-5 with 9:55 remaining in the opening half. Seckar stole the ball on an inbound play and Logan Rindflesich converted a layup at 9:03 for Oshkosh’s first points since Beck’s layup.
The teams each scored 20 points in the final 10 minutes of the opening period and the Blugolds held a 32-25 edge headed into the locker rooms.
Thomas scored the first points of the second half with a layup and four points with a three at 17:13 to cut the deficit to four points, however a 7-2 run for the Blugolds increased their lead to 44-34 through the halfway point of the period.
Nate Nazos and Thomas combined for five points to cut the deficit to five points followed by three free throws with 7:36 remaining. Eau Claire held Oshkosh to a single basket at a time down the stretch, eventually leading by 12 points with 28 seconds to go before LaChapell hit a late three to cut the deficit to nine points. The Blugolds converted a free throw at 15 seconds, securing the win and a trip to the WIAC Tournament Semifinal.
To qualify for the WIAC tournament, UWO had to get past the Blue Devils Saturday night at Kolf Sports Center.
Oshkosh dominated in all three phases of shooting, burying 10-of-13 3-pointers, 24-of-50 from the field and 17 of their 21 shots from the charity stripe. Oshkosh also out rebounded the Blue Devils pulling down 32 boards to Stout’s 29.
Thomas led the way for the Titans Saturday as he notched a season high in 3-pointers made as he sank five of his six attempts and shot 7-of-10 from the field. Thomas ended the night with 24 points, three rebounds, a career high four assists, and three steals (tied career high). LaChapell added 13 points, 8 coming from 3-point plays, on an efficient 3-of-5 from the field. LaChapell also pulled down three rebounds and dished out two assists.
The Blue Devils jumped out to an early lead, as they produced a 12-7 run through the first five minutes of play. The Titans then erupted for a 5-minute, 19-1 run led by Thomas who had 13 points in that time span. Stout then went on a 7-6 run to put the score a 32-20 with four minutes to go in the half. In the last four minutes, Stout ended the half with an 8-6 run. This was not enough as Oshkosh was still firmly in the driver’s seat and went into the half up 38-28.
Oshkosh came out of the locker room red hot, going on a 17-4 run in the first five-and-a-half minutes of the second half where Thomas scored eight points and LaChapell hit the first of his and-1 threes. The Titans kept up the pace with a 10-9 run to put the score at 65-41 with seven minutes to go in the contest. The Titans went on an 8-2 spurt to push their lead to 30 points over the Blue Devils. Oshkosh kept its foot on the gas and ended the contest with another 8-2 run to put away the Blue Devils 75-51.
The Titans made a reappearance in the WIAC Tournament after missing last season’s edition of the event. They now hold a 26-17 all-time record and a 5-3 mark against the Blugolds in the conference tournament.
