Game Notes: (MBK) UW-Oshkosh @ North Central College (11/12/19)

Final Score
UW-Oshkosh 76, NCC 66

Game Summary
The first few minutes were a microcosm of the contest as the Titans (2-0) punched the Cardinals in the mouth by opening on a 9-2 run, forcing a Todd Raridon timeout. The Cardinals (0-1) were able to rally, getting it back to a one possession game once before the Titans got hot, pushing the lead as high as 13 before settling into the break with a 45-33 lead. The Cardinals came out strong to start the second half, dropping the deficit to seven before a Titan heat check got the lead back up to 13, but the Cardinals refused to go away, pulling back within six with just over seven minutes to play. But in a key sequence late, after the Cardinals were down seven, missed two open threes to cut it to four, and a jumper-stop-dagger three sequence put the game away.

Key Players

• Eric Peterson (UWO): 7-11 FG (2-3 3PT), 2-5 FT; 18 pts, 12 reb (1 off), 5 ast. On a night where Oshkosh's bigs struggled, the Titans needed their perimeter guys to step up... and step up they did. Peterson was able to get to the basket with relative ease tonight, hit a couple key threes, and dominated the glass amongst the trees. The Batavia native posted career highs in each of the aforementioned categories.
• Adam Fravert (UWO): 6-13 FG (3-6 3PT), 0-2 FT; 15 pts, 8 reb (1 off), 2 blk, 2 stl. Similar thing here for Fravert. He got some easy looks at the basket and hit a few key threes as well. It was Fravert's triple in that late sequence that served as the dagger.
• Will Clausel (NCC): 6-9 FG (0-3 3PT), 2-3 FT; 14 pts, 3 reb (1 off), 1 ast, 1 blk. On a night where the stars struggled some offensively, the Cardinals needed a spark off the bench, and Will stepped up. While he struggled from deep, he was able to take advantage of drives to the basket. Additionally, his post defense against Oshkosh's bigs who had a major size advantage on him was phenomenal and helped keep the Cardinals in the game.

Key Stats

• NCC: 6-23 3PT (26.1%). Sometimes it's the simple things. On a night where Oshkosh was hot from deep, the Cardinals couldn't match. They'll shoot better as the year goes on, I'm sure; Cap won't go 1-6 every night, and Mike Pollack won't miss four straight after making his first.
• UWO: 6-10 3PT in the first half (60.0%). It's pretty much this simple. The Titans got hot early and that helped them build the lead. In a game where a lot of other things were even (Oshkosh won the rebounding battle 40-39 and had 40 points in the paint to NCC's 38), things like this make the difference.

Final Thoughts

Oshkosh is the defending champion, and despite losing a couple key pieces from their title team, they still brought back a significant chunk of last year's core, and it showed. This team is elite, and they played up to it in a tough environment. They have a legitimate shot at repeating this March.

From North Central's perspective, the other big problem was they committed a few dumb turnovers. While they only resulted in nine Titan points, it set a bad tone. I think this team will clean it up though. Big picture wise, getting a tough test like this to open the year will be good for them. Oshkosh will be regionally ranked come February, and a regionally ranked loss is still a good resume builder. This team should be fine.

It was great to see Aiden Chang return to the floor last night. I put a little extra into introducing him, and I even choked up a bit when I got to him. He played fairly well in his first game back, and I'm sure getting that first one out of the way helps.

The Cardinals have a couple days to reset, but they're going to have to be ready. Greenville comes to town on Friday, and North Central will have to be ready to run against a System team. There's going to be well over 300 points scored on Friday and I can't wait.