Titans end Blue Devil basketball season in WIAC tourney

Box Score UW-Oshkosh 98, UW-Stout 89 | D3photography Photo Gallery

OSHKOSH (March 1, 2021) - UW-Oshkosh and UW-Stout played an up-tempo game, but the Titans came out on top, 98-89, in the opening game of the WIAC Championship, presented by Culver's, Monday in Kolf Sports Arena, to put an end to the Blue Devils' season.

The 11th-ranked Titans took a 50-37 halftime lead, but Stout (3-6) did manage to cut the lead to six points, 93-87, with 48 seconds left. The Titans (5-1) made 5 of 6 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

The opening minutes of the game turned into a track meet as the two teams traded baskets and leads through the first 10 minutes of the game. Stout's last lead of the game proved to be around the 14 minute mark when Armani Tinsley nailed a 3-pointer to give Stout a 20-19 lead. The Titans built a four point lead and Stout got as close to one point, 25-24, on a layup by Jon Ciriacks at 10:33. Oshkosh built a seven point lead, only to see Stout pull to within two points, 34-32, on TYreese Alexander's bucket at 6:19. The Titans keps Stout scoreless for the next three minutes and built a 10 point lead, stretching that to 13 points by halftime. 

The Titans built as much as a 19 point lead, only to see Stout whittle away at the lead, cutting the deficit to under 10 points with about a minute left. A 3-pointer by Tinsley cut the score to 93-87 and that would be it. 

The Titans' Hunter Plamann led all scorers with 27 points, hitting 9 of 12 from the floor, with two 3-pointers, and made all seven free throw attempts. Levi Borchert had 21 points, Will Mahoney 17 points and Eddie Muench 15. Eric Peterson flirted with a double-double, scoring nine points and pulling down 10 rebounds.

The third-seeded Blue Devils were led Armani Tinsley with 23 points. Freshman Lovell Williams finished the year with a 19 point effort, adding six assists, and Jon Ciriacks dropped in 18 point points. Marcus Hill came off the bench to grab eight rebounds. Ciracks had seven. 

Stout shot 34 of 76 from the floor (.447), 13 of 29 from 3-point range (.448) and 8 of 11 from the line (.727). The Titans hit 36 of 60 from the floor (.600), 8 of 24 from 3-point range (.333) and 18 of 25 from the stripe (.720). Stout held a slight 37-36 advantage off the glass. Oshkosh committed 13 turnovers, while Stout turned the ball over 12 times.

The Titans advance to the second round Wednesday, March 3 where they will play the winner of the UW-Stevens Point/UW-La Crosse game.