ANGOLA, Ind.- UW-Oshkosh men's basketball opened its 2026-27 campaign with an 86-83 victory over La Roche University (Pa.) on Friday (Nov. 13) at the Trine University Classic. The win marked the first for
Steve Schweer as head coach of the Titans and the program's second consecutive season-opening victory.
Oshkosh (1-0), receiving votes in NCAA Division III by
D3hoops.com, improved to 2-0 all-time against La Roche (0-2) after holding off a late Redhawks comeback.
The Titans shot 46.4 percent (26-of-56) from the field, 38.1 percent (8-of-21) from three, and 78.8 percent (26-of-33) from the free throw line. La Roche finished shooting 41.1 percent (30-of-73) from the field, 27.6 percent (8-of-29) from beyond the arc, and 75.0 percent (15-of-20) at the charity stripe.
Oshkosh held a 42-40 advantage in rebounds, 13-12 in assists, and 5-3 in blocked shots, while the Redhawks led 10-6 in steals. La Roche outscored the Titans, 40-30, in the paint and 14-12 in second-chance points, while Oshkosh held an 18-7 advantage in fast-break points and 23-14 in bench points.
Joey La Chapell (Appleton/Appleton East) led the Titans with a game-high 18 points, shooting 5-of-12 from the field and a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line. La Chapell added three three-pointers, three assists, and two rebounds.
Brandon Beck (Rockton, Ill./Hillcrest Prep (Ariz.)) followed with 16 points, five rebounds, and a team-high four assists, while
Aiden Hawkinson (Waupun/Waupun) and
Vitorio Dante (Castle Rock, Colo./Castle View) each added 11 points. Dante matched his career-high in scoring and led the Titans with seven rebounds, including four offensive boards.
Michael Metcalf-Grassman (Shawano/Waukesha/Shawano Community) rounded out Oshkosh's double-digit scorers with 10 points, five rebounds, and three blocked shots.
The Titans opened the contest with a 10-4 advantage behind four points from Beck and two each from Hawkinson and Metcalf-Grassman. La Roche responded with eight consecutive points to take a 12-10 lead before Dante tied the game with a layup.
The teams traded baskets throughout the middle portion of the half, with neither team leading by more than three points until the final seconds. Trailing 34-31 with just over four minutes remaining, Oshkosh scored seven of the next nine points, capped by an
AJ Ohrmundt (Hartland/Arrowhead Union) three-pointer to take a 38-36 lead.
La Roche tied the score at 40-40 with 44 seconds remaining, but La Chapell connected on a three-pointer and sank three free throws in the closing seconds to give the Titans a 46-40 halftime advantage.
Oshkosh opened the second half with a 11-4 run, highlighted by a
Riley Rindfleisch (Milwaukee/Wisconsin Lutheran) dunk and consecutive fast-break baskets from Hawkinson and Metcalf-Grassman, to take its largest lead of the game at 57-44 with 17:06 remaining.
The Redhawks slowly chipped away at the deficit, but a pair of La Chapell three-pointers and a Dante putback helped Oshkosh maintain a 72-61 lead with 8:41 on the clock.
La Roche answered with a 14-2 run to take a 75-74 lead with 4:17 remaining. Metcalf-Grassman responded with two free throws to put the Titans back in front before
Logan Rindfleisch (Milwaukee/Wisconsin Lutheran) added two more at the charity stripe.
With Oshkosh leading 78-77, Hawkinson knocked down a three-pointer with 2:27 remaining to extend the advantage to four. After the Redhawks narrowed the deficit to one, Hawkinson connected on another three-pointer with 42 seconds left to give the Titans an 85-81 lead.
La Roche cut the margin to two with 26 seconds remaining before Metcalf-Grassman added a free throw with 13 seconds left. The Redhawks missed a potential game-tying three-pointer in the closing seconds, securing the Titans' season-opening victory.
Oshkosh returns to the hardwood on Saturday (Nov. 14) to face Trine University (Ind.) in its second game of the Trine University Classic. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET at the MTI Center in Angola, Indiana.
