PLATTEVILLE, Wis.- UW-Oshkosh fought back from a 7-point, first-half deficit and led as late as 51 seconds left in the second period before a pair of late UW-Platteville free throws swapped the lead for the ninth and final time in Wednesday's (Feb. 4) 76-75 win in the Williams Center.
 
The Titans and Pioneers both entered Wednesday's contest receiving votes in the most recent D3hoops.com poll.
 
Platteville (14-6, 6-3 WIAC) moved into a tie with UW-Stevens Point (16-4, 6-3) atop the WIAC standings while Oshkosh (14-6, 5-4 WIAC) dropped into a three-way tie for third with UW-La Crosse (15-5, 5-4 WIAC) and UW-Whitewater (14-6, 5-4 WIAC).
 
Carter Thomas (Neenah/Neenah) and Michael Metcalf-Grassman (Shawano/Waukesha/Shawano Community) led Oshkosh with 14 points apiece. Thomas went 3-for-7 from the field, 2-for-5 from 3-point range and 6-for-7 from the line and Metcalf-Grassman went 5-for-13 from the field with a 3 and 3-for-5 from the line.
 
Joey LaChapell (Appleton/Appleton East) recorded three assists and three steals to go with his 10 points, going 3-for-8 from the field, 2-for-5 from beyond the arc and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe.
 
Brandon Beck (Rockton, Ill./Hillcrest Prep (Ariz.)) scored 11 points in 15 minutes on the court and Jonah Rinsfleisch registered a game-high seven rebounds.
 
Max Love led all players with 21 points, followed by Pioneers Bristol Lewis (17) and Aiden Wieczorek (12). Joey Fuhremann pulled down six rebounds and Kaden MacKenzie paced the field with four assists.
 
The Titans went 39.7 percent (23-58) from the field, 35.5 percent (11-31) from 3-point range and 72 percent (18-25) from the line while holding advantages in assists (14-13), bench points (23-16), steals (7-4) and points off turnovers (10-6).
 
The Pioneers, who won for the fifth time in the last six matchups between the programs, shot 49.1 percent (26-53) from the field, 50 percent (10-20) from 3-point range and 82.4 percent (14-17) from the line. They held edges in rebounds (35-30), blocks (4-3), points in the paint (28-24) and second chance points (10-5).
 
Both teams owned largest leads of seven points, scored four fastbreak points, and committed 20 total fouls.
 
Metcalf-Grassman got the Titans off to a first-possession lead with a 3-pointer just seven seconds after the opening tip. Oshkosh retained the lead for another six minutes by holding Platteville to five nonconsecutive baskets and tied scores at 5-5 and 12-12. Platteville knotted the score at 14-14 with two shots from the charity stripe before flipping the lead to its favor on a 3 by Love. Oshkosh tied the tally three more times, eventually taking a 28-27 lead on LaChapell's steal-3 play just before the 6-minute mark. The Pioneers claimed their second lead of the first half (30-28) with 6:02 left on the clock on another long-range basket from Love, holding Oshkosh to a deficit through the break.
 
LaChapell opened the second half with a pair of free throws to cut Platteville's lead down to 40-38. Oshkosh kept the score within five points before using a 9-2 run that featured five more LaChapell points to claim a 49-47 edge. After the Pioneers took another small lead, Brandon Beck (Rockton, Ill./Hillcrest Prep (Ariz.)) put the Titans up again with a layup at 7:39 to make the score 63-61. Oshkosh kept the Pioneers at bay through four more tied scores before Love again put Platteville up, this time with a layup with 72 ticks remaining. Metcalf-Grassman converted a layup 21 seconds later to make the score 75-74 in the Titans' favor, however Lewis sank both shots from the line with 33 seconds left for the final lead change of the night. The Titans took five more shots at the basket in the last half minute of play, but couldn't find the net, dropping the 1-point decision.
 
The Titans stay on the road for Saturday's (Feb. 7) game against UW-River Falls (7-13, 2-7 WIAC). The contest in the Falcons' Karges Center is set for a 5 p.m. tipoff. Since 1985-86, Oshkosh holds a 55-29 record against River Falls. Oshkosh won the first meeting of the season, 104-86, in Kolf Sports Center on January 17.