The last time the UW-Superior men's basketball team faced off against the UW-Oshkosh Titans, it took until overtime for the Yellowjackets to pull out a three-point victory.
On Saturday, history repeated itself. And for the Yellowjackets, that meant a second straight overtime victory over the Titans during the 2012-2013 season.
After watching UW-Oshkosh rally back from a 10-point halftime deficit to force overtime, the Yellowjackets connected on 60 percent (3-of-5) of their shots from the field and held the Titans to just 33.3 percent shooting (3-of-9)in the extra session to hold on for a 76-73 win at Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium.
The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Yellowjackets and upped their season record to 9-13 overall and 5-8 in WIAC conference play. The Titans meanwhile dropped to 6-15 overall and 1-11 in conference action.
Neither team was able to gain much of an advantage through the opening 9:15 of the first half, which saw the Titans take a 19-15 lead following a three-pointer by Cory Nickel with 10:45 left in the first half.
The Yellowjackets scored the next eight points, getting back-to-back three-point shots from Austin Cahill along with a layup from Jarrod Peterson (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) to take a 23-19 edge at the 8:51 mark of the opening stanza.
Alex Olson's three on the next possession brought the Titans within 23-22 before UW-Superior went on a 14-5 run over the final 8:10 to take a 37-27 lead into the intermission following two free throws by Bronson Byrne (Chanhassen, Minn./Chaska) in the final 35 seconds of the half.
UW-Oshkosh came back early in the second half, scoring 13 of the first 17 points of the second half to come to within 41-40 Dylan Wurtz's three-pointer with 15:49 left in regulation.
Another jumper by Wurtz just 1:41 later gave the Titans a 42-41 lead before Aaron Corry (Lake Nebagamon, Wis./Northwestern) hit a three of his own, allowing the Yellowjackets to retake the lead at 44-42 with 13:51 remaining on the clock.
Matters remained tight for the rest of regulation, with neither team able to gain more than five point advantage.
A three by Nickel gave the Titans a brief 61-59 edge before a two free throws from Trent Davis (Apple Valley, Minn./St. Bernard's) and a single free throw by Byrne allowed the Yellowjackets to take a 62-61 in the final 2:09 of the second half.
Byrne's inside layup at 1:09 upped the lead to 64-61 for UW-Superior heading into the final minute of regulation.
But Nickel connected on another three with 55 seconds left to send the game into overtime even at 64-64.
In the overtime, an early three-pointer by Nickel gave the Titans a 69-68 lead before Byrne's inside score gave the Yellowjackets a 70-69 edge with 2:55 left in the extra session.
UW-Superior never trailed again, getting two free throws from Peterson, a jumper from Cahill and two more free throws from Brendan Bauer (Eleva, Wis./Gilmanton) to seal the win late.
The Yellowjackets were paced by Cahill with 19 points. Byrne added 17 points while Peterson had 16 points and Davis pitched in with 12. UW-Superior also held a 43-29 edge in rebounding for the game.
UW-Oshkosh was led by Nickel, who connected on 10-of-18 from three-point range on the way to scoring a game-high 33 points. Dylan Wurtz added 17 points for the Titans.
UW-Superior closes out their home schedule on Wednesday when they host UW-River Falls at Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.