The UW Oshkosh men’s basketball team was taken down by the No. 9 UW-La Crosse Eagles on Saturday night 75-69 at the Kolf Sports Center.
Oshkosh (12-11, 3-9 WIAC) shot well from beyond the arc as it connected on 9-of-22 (40.9%) 3-pointers to the Eagles’ 12-of-32 (37.5%). Oshkosh also produced 12 steals to the Eagles’ nine.
UWO was led by Carter Thomas, who scored 17 points and pulled down three rebounds. Matt Imig scored a career high 17 points on an efficient 6-of-11 from the field. Imig also recorded a career high in rebounds as he pulled down six boards; he also dished out five assists.
La Crosse jumped out to an 18-5 lead through the first seven minutes of play before Oshkosh responded with a 9-2 run over two-and-a-half minutes where it hit a trio of 3-pointers. Both teams then scored eight points to put the score at 28-22 in favor of the Eagles with 6:42 left in the half and La Crosse with the lead. The Titans finished out the half with a 14-13 run to head into the locker room down 41-36.
The second half started with the Titans going on an 8-6 run to get within 3 points of the Eagles. La Crosse responded with a 10-5 run to extend its lead to 57-49 with 12 minutes to go. La Crosse surged again with another 10-5 run to go ahead by 13 points. Oshkosh then went on its own 15-8 run and cut down the deficit to 5 points multiple times, however the Eagles won by a 16-point advantage.
The Titans will head to UW-Eau Claire’s Sonnentag Event Center on Wednesday as they take on the Blugolds at 7 p.m. for their last road game of the regular season. The Titans lost their previous matchup this season 69-56 on Jan. 8.
