Carter Thomas, Joey LaChapell, Brandon Beck and Reed Seckar all scored more than 10 points as the UW Oshkosh men’s basketball team took down UW-River Falls 81-68 at the Kolf Sports Center Saturday.
In a game the Titans never trailed, they shot 47.9% from the field and 52.5% from 3-point range. Oshkosh (11-7, 2-5 WIAC) also scored 22 points both in the paint and off the bench, and 12 both off turnovers and on second chances.
Thomas went a perfect 10-for-10 from the line and added 5-of-10 from the field and 2-of-5 from three for 22 points with two blocks. LaChapell went 6-of-10 from the field, 3-of-4 from three, and 4-of-4 from the line for 19 points while adding five assists and a pair of steals. Beck had a 13-point, eight-rebound night while Seckar registered 11 points.
The Titans opened the contest with 12 consecutive points before the Falcons (7-11, 1-6 WIAC) closed the gap to as few as four points with 12:56 remaining in the opening half. The teams traded points until a 2-minute scoreless period stalled the score at 26-19 in Oshkosh’s favor. A Tristan Johanknecht free throw and a Seckar three pushed the Titans’ lead past 10 points for the first time with 8 minutes to go. Four River Falls points in 31 seconds cut the deficit to eight points at 1:11 and the Titans closed out the first half on a 5-2 run to put the score at 42-31.
The Falcons scored five points out of the gates in the second half before the teams traded small runs past the halfway mark with Oshkosh’s lead hovering around seven points. Seckar and Thomas combined for five free throws between 7:04 and 6:22 to make the score 70-56. UWO scored another four points after a Falcon three, which River Falls responded to with eight straight points, decreasing the deficit to seven points. Down the final 2:27 Oshkosh went on a 7-1 spurt and Seckar pulled down a defensive rebound with 14 seconds remaining before dribbling out the clock.
The Titans will return home Wednesday as they host No. 4-ranked UW-Platteville at 7 p.m.
