OSHKOSH, Wis.- UW-Oshkosh men's basketball won its fourth straight game on Wednesday (Dec. 3) with an 87-71 win over Benedictine University (Ill.) at Kolf Sports Center.
 
The No. 17 nationally ranked Titans shot 40.3 percent (31-of-77) from the field, 32.2 percent (19-of-59) from three, and 46.2 percent (6-of-13) from the line. Their 59 three-pointers attempted were a program record, which also ranks fourth in WIAC history.
 
Twenty-four of Oshkosh's points were tallied in the paint, 22 were scored off turnovers, 17 came on second chances, and 21 were scored off the bench. The Titans held addition advantages in assists (22-11), blocks (6-1), and steals (13-9). They tallied their 13 steals on the Eagles' 20 turnovers while Benedictine led, 41-39, in rebounds.
 
The Titans won the tip-off and Brandon Beck (Rockton, Ill./Hillcrest Prep (Ariz.)) converted a three 17 seconds into the game to create their first lead. The lead changed hands four times over the next four times over the next seven minutes before Oshkosh solidified its lead on back-to-back threes by Carter Thomas (Neenah/Neenah) and Oskar Kangas (Iron Mountain, Mich./Iron Mountain) that made the score 14-9 with 13:21 left in the first half. The Eagles got back within four points three times, however a 9-0 Oshkosh run that featured a Kangas free throw, another Beck three, a Logan Rindfleisch (Milwaukee/Wisconsin Lutheran) layup, and a Carter Thomas (Neenah/Neenah) three, created a 13-point deficit at 6:03. Joey LaChapell (Appleton/Appleton East) bumped the lead to 40-24 with a pair of free throws and Benedictine closed out the half on a 6-0 run to send the teams to the locker room with the score at 41-32.
 
LaChapell opened the second half with a three and Beck followed an Eagles layup with one of his own. The Eagles scored five points in a row to cut the score to 49-39 and later went 12-0 to pull within a point at 57-56 with 9:34 left on the clock, however Matt Imig (Ashwaubenon/Ashwaubenon) and Jay Dalton (Fond du Lac/Fond du Lac) combined for five consecutive points to retain the lead. Benedictine decreased the deficit to two points at 5:24 and the Titans scored 11 points in a row in the final two minutes, including a trio of three-pointers, leading 87-68 before the Eagles finished the game with a three at 14 seconds left.
 
Beck scored a career-high 27 points, 19 of which were scored in the first half. He shot 10-of-14, including 5-of-9 from three, and 2-of-5 from the line in the contest while blocking a game-high three shots and recording five rebounds (two offensive) and an assist.
 
Thomas and LaChapell also scored double-digit points with 21 and 14, respectively. Both took all of their shots from the field behind the arc. Thomas went 7-of-12 from three and LaChapell went 4-of-11. LaChapell dished a game-high five assists and Jonah Rindfleisch (Milwaukee/Wisconsin Lutheran) registered four steals.
 
Kangas paced the Titans with eight rebounds (four offensive), while tallying seven points, an assist, a block, and a steal.
 
 
The Titans will travel to Michigan to face No. 11 Calvin University at the Knights' Van Noord Arena on Saturday (Dec. 6) at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Since the 1985-86 season, Oshkosh is 7-2 against Calvin and won both contests last season by an average score of 74-68.