BLOOMINGTON, Ill.- UW-Oshkosh men's basketball played Illinois Wesleyan University in the Illinois Titans' Sikma Hall of Fame Invitational championship game on Saturday (Nov. 15). Oshkosh kept the score close and fought back from an 11-point deficit in the second half, before falling, 75-68, to the nationally ranked hosts.
 
Oshkosh (2-1) shot 28.4 percent (21-of-74) from the field, 25.6 percent (11-of-43) from three, and 65.2 percent (15-of-23) from the field. The Titans recorded 44 rebounds including 18 on the offensive half of the court that contributed to 17 second chance points. They also registered 11 assists, 10 steals, and five blocks while tallying 20 points in the paint, another 20 points off turnovers, 11 fastbreak points, and had 28 points from bench players.
 
No. 16-ranked Illinois Wesleyan (2-0) went 44.4 percent (24-of-54) from the field, 16.7 percent (3-of-18) from three, and 68.6 percent (24-of-35) from the line and scored 40 of its 75 points in the paint with 17 coming off the bench.
 
Brandon Beck (Rockton, Ill./Hillcrest Prep (Ariz.)) was named to the all-tournament team after finishing the weekend with 17 points on 5-of-14 from the field, 3-of-9 from three, and 4-of-4 from the line. He also blocked a shot and stole the ball five times.
 
Oskar Kangas (Iron Mountain, Mich./Iron Mountain) came off the bench and scored 12 points by going 4-of-5 from beyond the arc and Carter Thomas (Neenah/Neenah) had his first double-digit scoring effort of the season with 10 points on 2-of-5 from the field and 6-of-6 from the line.
 
Illinois Wesleyan opened the game with five points before Jay Dalton (Fond du Lac/Fond du Lac) made a three to cut the lead to two. Oshkosh kept the score within four points and tied the score at 12-12 with a three from Max Tutas (Sheboygan/Sheboygan North). Tutas then converted a free throw to hand Oshkosh its first lead of the game.
 
After IWU went 9-0 to increase their edge to 21-13, Adam Guyette (Green Bay/Notre Dame Academy) hit a jumper and Joey LaChapell (Appleton/Appleton East) and Beck made threes around an Illinois Wesleyan layup. Between 5:19 and 4:10, Oshkosh added five points and claimed a 26-25 lead, but three IWU layups changed the lead again. The Titans tied the score at 28-28 and 31-31 leading up the halftime and trailed 33-31 after 20 minutes.
 
Oshkosh cut the deficit to a single point, however, runs of five and seven points created a score of 47-36 with 15:02 to play. With a pair of 4-point spurts and a 6-0 run, the Titans worked their way back into the game, pulling within two points at 55-53 after Aiden Hawkinson (Waupun/Waupun) made both of his free throws.
 
Illinois Wesleyan increased its lead to at least seven points three times in the last eight minutes and reached the mark again on layups with no time left on the clock following a driving layup by Beck.
 
The Titans will play three road games at Carroll University (2-2) on November 22, at Edgewood University (0-2) on November 25, and at Augustana College (Ill.) (2-0) on November 30 before returning to Kolf Sports Center for a home game against Benedictine University (Ill.) (2-1) on December 3.