RIVER FALLS, Wis.- The UW-Oshkosh men's basketball team never trailed by more than seven points in regulation of its game at UW-River Falls on Saturday (Feb. 8) and forced overtime before falling to the Falcons, 76-68.
 
The Titans (12-9, 3-7 WIAC) shot 38.3 percent (23-of-60) from the field, 24 percent (6-of-25) from three, and 88.9 percent (16-of-18) from the line across the 45-minute contest. Thirty of their points came in the points against the Falcons' (8-13, 2-8 WIAC) 34 and River Falls held a slight 35-34 rebounding lead.
 
Brandon Beck (Fr. • Rockton, Ill.) led Oshkosh with 21 points, going 9-of-18 from the field with a pair of three and 1-of-2 from the line. He also recorded five rebounds (one offensive).
 
Carter Thomas (Jr. • Neenah) and Joey LaChapell (Fr. • Appleton) passed double-digit scoring as well with 18 and 15 points respectively.
 
Jonah Rindfleisch (Jr. • Milwaukee) pulled down a team high six rebounds (two offensive) and led Oshkosh with four assists, two steals, and a block.
 
The Falcons scored the first seven points of the game, however a three by Beck and two layups by Rindfleisch cut the deficit to two points (9-7) with 16:49 left in the first half. Thomas put the Titans up, 12-11, at 14:09 with a three, River Falls reclaimed the lead, and two free throws from LaChapell put the Titans back on top.
 
Oshkosh scored six more consecutive points to take a 20-13 lead. The teams remained within six points of each other until the Falcons broke a 32-32 tie with a three with 1:02 before halftime.
 
A Beck 3-pointer and two free throws and a layup from Thomas made the score 39-35 in the Titans' after under two minutes of play in the second half. The Falcons went on a 7-0 run to take a 3-point edge and the teams traded baskets for a few minutes until four Oshkosh points tied the score at 55-55 with 4:50 to go.
 
Down three points with 1:32 remaining in regulation, Thomas converted an and-1 to knot that score up at 62-62 and Rindfleisch pulled down a last minute rebound to force overtime.
 
Beck scored the first points of the extra period on a layup before River Falls scored 11 straight, making the score 73-64 with 1:01 left. The deficit hovered around eight points down the stretch and after LaChapell sunk two free throws with 10 seconds left on the clock, the Falcons added a free throw to make the final score 76-68.
 
The Titans host UW-Stevens Point (15-5, 5-4 WIAC) on Wednesday (Feb. 12) at 7 p.m. and UW-La Crosse (17-4, 8-2 WIAC) on Saturday (Feb. 15) at 5 p.m. The Pointers are receiving votes in this week's D3hoops.com poll and the Eagles are ranked sixth.