OSHKOSH, Wis.- UW-Oshkosh men's basketball moved into a tie atop the WIAC standings after receiving 45 points off the bench en route to an 84-75 victory over UW-Eau Claire on Wednesday (Feb. 11) in Kolf Sports Center.
Oshkosh (16-6, 7-4 WIAC) maintained a lead for the final 32 minutes following an
Aiden Hawkinson (Waupun/Waupun) 3-pointer at the 7:18 mark of the first half. Hawkinson went on to pace the Titans with a career-best 21 points in 21 minutes off the bench.
The Titans swept the season series with the Blugolds after winning, 79-73, in Eau Claire on January 21.
Following Wednesday's results around the league, the Titans move into a four-way tie for first in the WIAC standings at 7-4 with UW-La Crosse (17-5 overall), UW-Stevens Point (17-5) and UW-Whitewater (16-6) with three contests left. All four leaders clinched berths into the six-team WIAC Tournament that commences with first-round games February 24.
Eau Claire (14-8, 3-8 WIAC) is tied for seventh in the WIAC standings after Wednesday's setback during a battle pitting Oshkosh's conference-leading scoring offense at 85 points per game and the Blugolds' league-best scoring defense at 67.6 points per contest.
The Blugolds allowed more than 80 points for just the fourth time this season while Oshkosh has now topped 80 points on 15 occasions.
Hawkinson shot 7-for-13 from the field, including 5-for-9 from 3-point range on the way to establishing a new collegiate scoring high.
Oshkosh also received 17 points from
Joey LaChapell (Appleton/Appleton East), 11 from
Michael Metcalf-Grassman (Shawano/Waukesha/Shawano Community) and eight from
Carter Thomas (Neenah/Neenah). Off the bench the Titans got seven points apiece from
Vitorio Dante (Castle Rock, Colo./Castle View) and
Matt Imig (Ashwaubenon/Ashwaubenon), and six from
Logan Rindfleisch (Milwaukee/Wisconsin Lutheran).
Oskar Kangas (Iron Mountain, Mich./Iron Mountain) grabbed a team-leading eight rebounds in a reserve role for Oshkosh while Imig led all players with five assists.
The Titans shot 46.4 percent (26-56) from the field, 32.3 percent (10-31) from beyond the 3-point arc and 75.9 percent (22-29) at the free throw line. Oshkosh owned advantages of 38-31 in rebounds, 13-8 in assists, 9-10 in turnovers, 7-4 in steals and 2-0 in blocks. The Titans, who entered the night ranked sixth in the NCAA Division III in made 3-pointers per game at 11.4, have drained at least 10 long-range jumpers during 18 of their 22 games on the year.
Eau Claire went 27-for-58 (46.6 percent) from the floor, 6-for-18 (33.3 percent) from 3-point range and 15-for-23 (65.2 percent) at the foul line.
Andre Renta had a game-best 28 points on 11-for-21 shooting from the field for the Blugolds, who also received 11 points apiece from Roan Demovsky and Carter Lichtsinn, and 10 from Roman Richards. Richards corralled a game-high nine rebounds.
The lead changed seven times during the first half. Oshkosh rattled off eight straight points to reclaim a 19-18 edge on a Kangas layup with 7:54 left in the opening period. Andre Renta scored in the lane on the ensuing Blugold possession ahead of Hawkinson's 3-pointer that put the Titans in the lead for good.
Leading 42-36 at intermission, the Titans built a pair of 10-point cushions early in the second half before the Blugolds pulled within two points thrice, including for the final time at 64-62 with just over six minutes to go.
Oshkosh then put the game away with a 12-0 scoring run over the next 3:30 to extend the advantage to 76-62 at the 2:29 mark. The 12-point surge featured four different scorers as Imig made a pair of free throws, LaChapell and Metcalf-Grassman scored in the lane, Rindfleisch drained two free throws and Metcalf-Grassman made another layup to cap the run.
The Titans travel to UW-Stout for a 3 p.m. tip Saturday (Feb. 14). Stout eked out a 78-77 victory over the Titans on January 24 in Oshkosh.
