MENOMONIE, Wis.- Down a point with one-and-a-half ticks left on the clock, Michael Metcalf-Grassman (Shawano/Waukesha/Shawano Community) slipped his defender and took the inbounds pass from Carter Thomas (Neenah/Neenah) for an open layup, sealing a 68-67 win over UW-Stout in the Blue Devils' Johnson Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 14).
 
The Titans (17-6, 8-4 WIAC), receiving votes in the most recent D3hoops.com poll, held five first-half leads, but had to fight back from a 12-point halftime deficit and did not lead again until the last-second basket.
 
Oshkosh split the season series with the Blue Devils (8-15, 4-8 WIAC) after a 78-77 loss in Kolf Sports Center on January 24.
 
The Titans will at most be in a three-way tie atop the WIAC standings when the evening slate of games concludes on Saturday. UW-La Crosse (17-5, 7-4 WIAC) and UW-Stevens Point (17-5, 7-4 WIAC) play in Stevens Point and UW-Whitewater (16-6, 7-4 WIAC) faces UW-Eau Claire on the road.
 
The Titans shot 42.6 percent (23-54) from the field, 26.3 percent (5-19) from 3-point range and 68 percent (17-25) from the line in the contest. Their field goal percentage was higher than Stout's 33.8 (23-68), however the Blue Devils shot higher from 3 (26.9 percent, 7-26) and the line (87.5 percent, 14-16).
 
Oshkosh held additional advantages in rebounds (43-38), assists (9-8), points off turnovers (18-16), points in the paint (34-20) and second chance points (17-11). Stout led in bench points (37-30), blocks (5-2) and steals (13-5).
 
Carter Thomas (Neenah/Neenah) scored a team-high 16 points by shooting 4 of 6 from the field, 3 of 5 from 3-point range and 5 of 6 from the line. Michael Metcalf-Grassman (Shawano/Waukesha/Shawano Community) and Aiden Hawkinson (Waupun/Waupun) both tallied 11 points while Jonah Rindfleisch (Milwaukee/Wisconsin Lutheran) paced Oshkosh with eight rebounds. Rindfleisch and Nate Nazos (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) dished out three assists apiece.
 
AJ Uttech led the Blue Devils with 22 points on 7-for-19 from the field, 2-for-5 from 3 and 6-for-6 from the line and Aidan Shore and Gavin Johnson each chipped in 10 points. Collin Vick was the game's leading rebounder with 11 on the day.
 
The Titans jumped out to an early lead thanks to Carter Thomas' (Neenah/Neenah) layup following the opening tip. Hawkinson kept the Blue Devils at bay with Oshkosh's next six points on a 3-pointer and an and-1 layup. Tristian Johanknecht pushed the Titans' lead to a game-high four points (9-5) with 14:34 left in the opening period on a free throw.
 
Stout claimed its first lead at 10:53 on a pair of Uttech free throws and went up three more times before closing out  the half on a 17-2 run.
 
Metcalf-Grassman kicked off the second half with a layup and Oshkosh outscored the Blue Devils, 7-2, in the next 2:45 to cut the deficit down to 41-34 with just over 17 minutes to play.
 
Oshkosh allowed Stout to extend its lead to double digits just once in the half before going on using a pair of 5-0 runs to get within two points. Following a flurry of six free throws between the teams in the final minute of play, the Titans stood a points down with 16 seconds remaining. The Blue Devils fouled Rindfleisch to send him to the line and while he missed both attempts, Thomas muscled his way to a jump ball in Oshkosh's favor. Coming out of the official review to verify the clock, Thomas found a wide open Metcalf-Grassman under the basket for a quick two with 0.4 left that sealed the comeback win.
 
The Titans will play their final regular season away game at No. 19 UW-La Crosse on Wednesday (Feb. 18) before returning to Kolf Sports Center for the regular season finale as they host No. 18 UW-Stevens Point next Saturday (Feb. 21).
 
Oshkosh defeated the Eagles, then-ranked sixth in the nation, in a 121-115, overtime thriller in Kolf on January 7, and dropped an 84-73 decision to Stevens Point, then-ranked 14th in the Pointers' Quandt Fieldhouse on January 10.