STEVENS POINT, Wis.- UW-Oshkosh men's basketball jumped out to an early edge in Stevens Point on Saturday night (Jan. 10), but lost, 84-73, to the Pointers at Bennett Court at Quandt Fieldhouse.
 
The defeat was the first in WIAC play for the Titans (11-3, 2-1 WIAC), who are ranked 21st by D3hoops.com. The Pointers improved to 13-1, 3-0 WIAC.
 
Joey LaChapell (Appleton/Appleton East) led the way for Oshkosh by scoring 13 points with three scores from deep and 6-for-11 from the field. Oskar Kangas (Iron Mountain, Mich./Iron Mountain) and Michael Metcalf-Grassman (Shawano/Waukesha/Shawano Community) added 11 and 10 points, respectively, with Metcalf-Grassman going 8-for-10 from the charity stripe.
 
Oshkosh shot 40.3 percent (25-of-62) from the field, 32 percent (8-of-25) from beyond the arc and 71.4 percent (15-of-21) from the line. The Titans held a 5-3 edge in blocks and an 11-10 lead in steals while the Pointers outrebounded them, 43-31. Both teams scored 34 points in the paint and 31 of Oshkosh's points were tallied by reserve players.
 
The Titans started strong, jumping out to an 14-5 lead with Kangas scoring four points over the four minute span. Michael Metcalf-Grassman (Shawano/Waukesha/Shawano Community), Aiden Hawkinson (Waupun/Waupun), Carter Thomas (Neenah/Neenah) and Vitorio Dante (Castle Rock, Colo./Castle View) also scored their first points in the run.
 
Oshkosh did not let the Pointers break double digit points until 11:33 to go in the half. At that point UWO was up 21-12 after a 10-7 run with Dante contributing four points of his own.
 
Over the next two minutes, the Pointers produced an 8-0 run the cut the deficit to 24-20. Oshkosh used four 3-pointers to keep a lead of more than a basket until a 5-point spurt by the Pointers brought to score to 42-40 with 39 seconds remaining in the opening period. Brandon Beck (Rockton, Ill./Hillcrest Prep (Ariz.)) tipped a missed 3 by LaChapell into the basket for a 44-40 halftime score.
 
Stevens Point grabbed its first lead since 19:39 in the first half with a 9-2 run to open the second, putting the hosts ahead, 49-46.
 
Oshkosh responded with a 9-2 run that tied up the contest at 58-58, with Kangas and Jonah Rindfleisch (Milwaukee/Wisconsin Lutheran) each contributing three points.
 
The Pointers then found themselves on a 14-5 run and jumping out to a 63-72 lead. Stevens Point then finished the contest with a 12-10 run.
 
The Titans are back on the home hardwood Wednesday (Jan. 14) as they will host UW-Platteville (11-3, 3-0 WIAC) at Kolf Sports Center at 7 p.m. This matchup is the 87th between the two schools since the 1984-85 season. The Pioneers hold a 59-27 record over the Titans during that time span and the Titans are 6-4 over the last 10 matchups.