EAU CLAIRE, Wis.- After entering halftime with a 7-point deficit to UW-Eau Claire, the UW-Oshkosh men's basketball team fought back to a late 4-point deficit in the WIAC Tournament (presented by Culver's) First Round matchup at the Blugolds' Sonnentag Event Center on Wednesday (Feb. 24) before falling, 66-56.
The Titans (13-13) qualified for the league playoffs by defeating UW-Stout, 75-51, at Kolf Sports Center on Saturday (Feb. 22) after UW-River Falls cleared the way to essentially make the Oshkosh-Stout contest a play-in with a loss to UW-Platteville.
UW-Oshkosh went 39.3 percent (22-of-56) from the field, 25 percent (6-of-24) from three, and 66.7 percent (6-of-9) from the line while pulling down 27 rebounds, recording nine assists and eight steals. In a game dominated by Oshkosh's starters, 28 points came in the paint and 20 were scored off turnovers.
Joey LaChapell (Fr. • Appleton), the WIAC leader in 3-point (.421) and free throw shooting (.955), scored 14 points on the night. After recording two points in the first half on a pair of free throws, he added 12 in the second including three more shots from the charity stripe. His streak of consecutive made free throws ended at 53 on Wednesday night after not missing a shot from the line since Oshkosh's Jan. 8 contest at Eau Claire.
Carter Thomas (Jr. • Neenah) went 5-of-13 from the field with a pair of threes and added a free throw for 13 points while Jonah Rindfleisch (Jr. • Milwaukee) turned in an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Oshkosh scored the first five points of the game as Jonah Rindfleisch hit a three and Brandon Beck (Fr. • Rockton, Ill.) made a layup in the first two and-a-half minutes of play. Eau Claire responded with 15 straight points, leading 15-5 with 9:55 remaining in the opening half. Reed Seckar (Jr. • Oshkosh) stole the ball on an in bounding play and Logan Rindflesich (Fr. • Milwaukee) converted a layup at 9:03 for Oshkosh's first points since Beck's layup.
The teams each scored 20 points in the final 10 minutes of the opening period and the Blugolds held a 32-25 edge headed into the locker rooms.
Thomas scored the first points of the second half with a layup and four points with a three at 17:13 to cut the deficit to four points, however a 7-2 run for the Blugolds increased their lead to 44-34 through the halfway point of the period.
Nate Nazos (Fr. • Batavia, Ill.) and Thomas combined for five points to cut the deficit to five points followed by three free throws with 7:36 remaining. Eau Claire held Oshkosh to a single basket at a time down the stretch, eventually leading by 12 points with 28 seconds to go before LaChapell hit a late three to cut the deficit to nine points. The Blugolds converted a free throw at 15 seconds, securing the win and a trip to the WIAC Tournament Semifinal.
UW-Oshkosh finished the season second in the conference with a .352 shooting percentage from three and a .752 clip from the line.
The Titans made a reappearance in the WIAC Tournament after missing last season's edition of the event. They now hold a 26-17 all-time record and a 5-3 mark against the Blugolds in the conference tournament.
