OSHKOSH, Wis.- UW-Oshkosh men's basketball overcame a halftime deficit and pulled away for an 86-76 victory over UW-Platteville in a matchup of nationally ranked WIAC programs Wednesday (Jan. 14) in Kolf Sports Center.
 
Oshkosh (12-3, 3-1 WIAC), ranked 20th in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, dealt 19th-ranked Platteville (11-4, 3-1) its first league loss of the season and moved into a three-way tie atop the conference standings with 11th-ranked UW-Stevens Point (13-2, 3-1).
 
The Titans trailed, 32-30, at intermission and 42-38 at the 14:27 mark of the second half before reclaiming the lead for good at 48-46 with 11:59 to play. The Titans, who shot 25 of 32 from the free throw line during the second half, led by as many as 11 points on two occasions over the final six minutes on the way to improving to 7-0 at home this season and snapping a four-game losing streak to the Pioneers.
 
Oshkosh went into Wednesday as the highest scoring team in the WIAC at 86.5 points per game while Platteville had the second-best scoring defense in the league at 69.1 points per contest. The Titans' 86 points were the most the Pioneers have yielded this season.
 
Brandon Beck (Rockton, Ill./Hillcrest Prep (Ariz.)) led all players with 23 points in 20 minutes for the Titans, who also received 17 points from Carter Thomas (Neenah/Neenah), 15 points from Joey LaChapell (Appleton/Appleton East), 10 from Michael Metcalf-Grassman (Shawano/Waukesha/Shawano Community) and nine from Aiden Hawkinson (Waupun/Waupun). Matt Imig (Ashwaubenon/Ashwaubenon) and Nate Nazos (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) paced Oshkosh with three assists apiece. Logan Rindfleisch (Milwaukee/Wisconsin Lutheran) grabbed a team-best six rebounds.
 
LaChapell, who ranks second among all active NCAA players in career free throw percentage, went 7-for-7 at the foul line to extend his streak to 20 consecutive makes at the charity stripe.
 
Oshkosh, which improved to 3-3 against nationally ranked opponents this season, ended the contest shooting 41.4 percent (24-58) from the field, 38.2 percent (13-34) from 3-point range and 78.1 percent (25-32) at the free throw line. The Titans, who did not attempt a free throw during the opening half, held advantages of 14-11 in assists, 11-18 in turnovers and 11-4 in steals after heading into the night as the WIAC leader in assists, steals, blocks and turnovers forced per game as well as turnover margin and assist-to-turnover ratio.
 
The Titans, who were sixth nationally with 11.8 made 3-pointers per game heading into the night, have now made at least 11 shots from beyond the arc during 12 of their 15 games.
 
Platteville went 28-for-61 (45.9 percent) from the floor, 11 of 29 (37.9 percent) from 3-point range and 9-for-11 (81.8 percent) at the foul line. The Pioneers, who headed into the contest with a league-leading +7.1 average rebounding margin, held a 36-35 edge on the boards.
 
Max Love led four Pioneer double-digit scorers with 20 points to go along with a game-high eight rebounds while Lucas Rameker and Aiden Wieczorek added 13 points apiece and Bristol Lewis chipped in 11 points.
 
Platteville scored 10 unanswered points during a span of five minutes for a 26-25 lead in the opening period and went on to hold the Titans to 38.7 percent (12-31) shooting from the field during the first 20 minutes.
 
A 3-pointer by Lewis, who led the WIAC with 43 made 3s entering the night, provided the Pioneers a 42-38 lead with 14:27 remaining, but the Titans attempted all 32 of their free throws and committed just one turnover over the last 14 minutes to notch the victory.
 
Oshkosh reclaimed the lead for good at 48-46 following a Hawkinson 3-pointer with 11:59 to go. LaChapell drilled a 3-pointer of his own on the ensuing Titan possession for a 51-46 advantage, and Oshkosh maintained at least a three-point lead the rest of the way.
 
An Imig 3-pointer gave Oshkosh its largest lead of 11 points at 67-56 with 6:05 left before the Titans matched their largest cushion at 69-58 after a Rindfleisch layup at the 4:50 mark.
 
Oshkosh remains at home to host UW-River Falls at 7 p.m. Saturday (Jan. 17) in Kolf Sports Center. River Falls has won three of its last four meetings with the Titans.