UW-Stout survived two UW-Oshkosh game-winning attempts in the final minute and held on for a 49-47 men's basketball victory on Saturday (Feb. 16) in Menomonie.

The Titans trailed 47-42 with 3:07 left, but rallied to tie the score on a three-pointer and two free throws from Cory Nickel (Jr. • Waupun) during the 84 seconds that followed.

UW-Stout (19-6, 11-5 WIAC) regained the lead and scored the game's final points on a lay-up by Alex Oman with 1:17 left. UW-Oshkosh's bid for a victory came up short as Nickel missed a three-point shot with 54 seconds left and another as time expired.

UW-Stout jumped out to an 11-3 lead and took a 23-20 advantage to intermission. The Titans pulled to within 21-20 on a Nickel jump shot, but went scoreless the final 4:31 of the period.

UW-Oshkosh, which never led in the contest, fell behind 39-32 with 10:35 left to play. The Titans then tallied seven straight points to tie the score at 39 with 6:58 remaining. Following a tie at 41, UW-Stout scored six of the next points to take a 47-42 lead.   

Nickel led UW-Oshkosh (7-18, 2-14 WIAC) in scoring with 24 points, including five triples. He also grabbed five rebounds. The Titans received seven points and a career-high 10 rebounds from Dylan Wurtz (Jr. • Kimberly) and eight points and five rebounds from Jade Royston (Jr. • Wisconsin Dells).

UW-Stout acquired 13 points and eight rebounds from Chris Hortman. The Blue Devils also benefited from the nine points and six assists by Erik Olson, nine points and five rebounds by Jarvis Ragland and nine points and four rebounds by Oman.

UW-Oshkosh shot 32 percent (17-53) from the field and 75 percent (6-8) from the free throw line. The Titans made 7-of-23 three-point shots (30 percent) while committing 10 turnovers. UW-Oshkosh lost the rebounding battle, 41-32.

UW-Stout converted 35 percent (18-51) of its field goal attempts and 64 percent (7-11) of its free throws. The Blue Devils, who turned the ball over 14 times, drained 6-of-15 from long range (40 percent).

Saturday's game marked the final appearance in a UW-Oshkosh uniform for seniors Sean Wise (Wautoma) and Sam Mageland (Appleton).