  Dan Culy’s two free throws with 16 seconds
remaining pushed UW-Superior past UW-Oshkosh, 67-66, in the quarterfinal
round of the WIAC Men's Basketball Tournament held Monday (Feb.
25) in Kolf Sports Center.
Fifth-seeded UW-Superior (12-14) advances to play top-seeded UW-Whitewater
(22-4) in the semifinal round on Wednesday (Feb. 27) in Whitewater.
The Warhawks defeated eighth-seeded UW-Stout (7-19), 78-67, on Monday.
Other quarterfinal round results on
Monday had third-seeded UW-Stevens Point (21-5) edge sixth-seeded
UW-La Crosse (11-15), 74-66 in overtime, and seventh-seeded UW-Eau
Claire (12-14) trim second-seeded UW-Platteville (19-7), 84-80.
Fourth-seeded UW-Oshkosh (17-9) held
a 66-62 advantage before UW-Superior's Jake Smith hit a three-point
basket to cut the Yellowjackets' deficit to 66-65 with 29 seconds
to play. The Titans had an opportunity to extend their lead, but
Jordan Johnson (Sr. • Waupaca) missed two free throws with
19 seconds left. Johnson committed a foul going for his second miss,
sending Culy to the charity stripe for what turned out to be the
game's winning points.
Following a UW-Oshkosh turnover, Smith
missed two free throws with four seconds remaining to keep the Titans'
chance at a victory alive. The game ended with Smith blocking Johnson's
desperation three-point attempt.
D.J. Marsh (So. • Bayside) brought UW-Oshkosh
back from an 11-point, second-half deficit to a 66-62 lead. Marsh
poured in 15 points in a span of 6:09 to take the Titans from a
53-49 deficit with 7:42 remaining to a 64-62 lead with 1:33 left.
UW-Oshkosh, which suffered a 77-67
loss to UW-Superior on Saturday (Feb. 23) in Kolf Sports Center,
jumped to a 12-4 lead 5:04 into play. UW-Superior answered with
a 16-3 scoring run to go ahead 20-15 with 7:11 remaining in the
opening period. The Yellowjackets had their 32-23 halftime lead
vanish as Marsh's three-point play tied the contest at 59 with five
minutes left in the contest.
Marsh totaled 33 points and 13 rebounds, both career
bests. It was his second double-double of the season. The Titans
also acquired 14 points, nine rebounds and three assists from Johnson
and 10 points, four rebounds and three steals from Dane Seckar-Anderson
(Jr. • Oshkosh). Johnson was playing in his 102nd game for
the Titans and concluded his UW-Oshkosh career with 600 points,
445 rebounds and 151 assists.
Culy topped UW-Superior with 25 points,
including 7-of-9 shooting from the field and 7-of-7 shooting from
the free-throw line. He also dished off three rebounds and blocked
three shots. Smith totaled 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the
field while Shane Manor contributed 14 points, 11 rebounds and five
assists. The freshman trio combined for 60 points, including 21-of-29
shooting from the field.
UW-Oshkosh, which ended the season
with three straight losses, shot 45.2 percent (28-62) from the field.
The Titans shot just 15.4 percent (2-13) behind the three-point
arc and 57.1 percent (8-14) from the free-throw stripe.
UW-Superior shot 53.3 percent (24-45)
from the field. The Yellowjackets hit 8-of-15 three-point shots
(53.3 percent) and 11-of-17 free throws (64.7 percent).
The game featured just 14 turnovers,
with UW-Superior committing nine and UW-Oshkosh five. The Titans
won the rebounding battle, 35-25.
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