Joey LaChappell scored a game-high 22 points, but the UW Oshkosh men’s basketball team fell to UW-Eau Claire 69-56 at the Kolf Sports Center Wednesday night.

LaChappell went 6-of-15 from the field and hit four three pointers for the Titans (9-3, 0-2 WIAC). Carter Thomas finished with 11 points while Jonah Rindfleisch scored 10 points and added five rebounds.

Oshkosh played the majority of the game without forward Michael Metcalf-Grassman, who leads the conference with 22.5 points per game, after he did not return to the game when he injured his right knee and had to be helped off the court with 15:38 remaining in the first half.

UWO shot 34% as a team from the field, 26% from 3-point range and was outrebounded 35-28. The Titans forced 16 Eau Claire turnovers and finished with six blocked shots and nine steals.

Eau Claire (9-4, 1-1 WIAC) shot 51% from the floor as a team and 52% from behind the arc. The Blugolds outscored Oshkosh in bench points 21-13 and in the paint 28-22.

Carter Huschka and Gunnar Tebon both led UWEC with 21 points each. Huschka went 9-for-15 from the field and grabbed seven rebounds while Tebon went 8-for-13 and had five 3-pointers. Andre Renta scored 13 points for the Blugolds while Cade Hall added 11.

Huschka converted on two layups to begin the first half, but the Titans responded with a layup from Rindfleisch and back-to-back 3-pointers from Joey LaChappell and Carter Thomas to take an 8-4 lead. A Huschka 3-pointer three minutes into the game kickstarted a 12-0 Blugold run, and Eau Claire led by eight points until a turnaround jumper and a layup from Rindfleisch cut the deficit to 18-14. With seven minutes remaining until halftime, Tebon knocked down a turnaround jumper and Renta hit a 3-pointer as the Blugolds built their lead to nine points. Tebon, who scored 21 points in the opening 20 minutes, nailed another 3-pointer with 6:30 to go to put UWEC up 10 points, and the Blugolds held a double-digit lead for the remainder of the half.

Eau Claire’s Carter Lichtsinn drilled a 3-pointer in the opening 40 seconds of the second half to put the Blugolds up 18 points, but a 3-pointer from Thomas and a layup from Max Tutas to pull the score to 47-34. Both teams traded baskets for the next 10 minutes until a layup from Reed Seckar cut the Eau Claire lead to 11 points. UWEC responded with back-to-back baskets from Huschka and a 3-pointer from Hall to increase the Blugolds advantage to 63-45, and Eau Claire never looked back en route to a 13-point victory.

The Titans will hit the road to take on the No.1 team in the country in UW-Platteville (12-1, 2-0 WIAC) on Saturday at Bo Ryan Court at Williams Fieldhouse at 7 p.m.