RIPON, Wis.- Continuing its hot streak at the start of the 2024-25 season, UW-Oshkosh men's basketball defeated Ripon College, 91-83, at the Red Hawks' Doc Weiske '50 Memorial Gymnasium on Tuesday night (Dec. 3).
 
The Titans led for 32:11 of the game and didn't trail after 10:22 was left in the first half.
 
UW-Oshkosh (6-1) shot 52.7 percent (29-of-55) from the field including 44.4 percent (12-of-27) from three and made 21 free throw attempts. 31 of the Titans' points came off the bench, adding 28 off turnovers, 30 in the paint, and 13 on second chances.
 
Ripon (3-4) went 51.6 percent (33-of-64) from the field, 52.2 percent (12-of-23) from three and made five free throw shots. The Red Hawks paced Oshkosh in assists, 14-11, but also committed 14 turnovers to the Titans' 11.
 
Michael Metcalf-Grassman (So. • Shawano/Waukesha) once again led UW-Oshkosh's scoring effort, tallying 28 on 7-of-11 from the field and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. He also made 12 of his 15 free throws and pulled down nine rebounds (two offensive). Joey LaChapell (Fr. • Appleton) scored 18 points, going 7-of-12 from the field and 4-of-6 from three. Brandon Beck (Fr. • Rockton, Ill.) was the third Titan in double-digit points with 16 (6-of-7 from the field, 3-of-4 from three), also registering four steals. Nate Nazos (Fr. • Batavia, Ill.) notched a team high three assists.
 
The Red Hawks scored first after the tipoff and extended their lead to five points with a 3-pointer before LaChapell put UW-Oshkosh on the board with a three. He went on to convert two layups for the next four points of the game, putting the Titans up for the first time. After LaChapell broke a 7-7 tie on another 3-point shot, Nazos and Max Tutas (So. • Sheboygan) were the first Titans not named Joey to score in the game. Oshkosh led by as much as five points until Ripon led for just over two minutes in the middle of the period. Metcalf-Grassman put the Titans on top for the final time with 9:46 left in the first half with a three. UW-Oshkosh led by seven points four times for the remainder and went into halftime with a 46-45 edge over the home Red Hawks.
 
The teams traded the first few baskets of the second half and UW-Oshkosh extended its lead to 11 points, its largest deficit of the contest, with six from Beck and three from Carter Thomas (Jr. • Neenah) between 17:26 and 15:08. Ripon pulled within three points with 19 seconds left in the period, but couldn't reclaim the lead and the Titans scored the final five points of the game.
 
The Titans will host Calvin University (Mich.) (1-5) at Kolf Sports Center on Thursday (Dec. 5) in the two teams' second matchup of the season. UW-Oshkosh defeated the Knights, ranked No. 9 in the nation at the time, in its first game of the Heidelberg University (Ohio) Ron Linhart Memorial Tournament by a 75-67 score on Nov. 15.