A go-ahead layup from junior forward Cole Frilling with 10.9 seconds left in regulation propelled the Case Western Reserve University men's basketball team into the Third Round of the 2022 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship, as the Spartans upset defending champion and third-ranked UW-Oshkosh 77-74 at the Kolf Sports Center in Oshkosh, Wisconsin on Saturday night.
In the program's first-ever appearance in the postseason tournament, CWRU (20-6) will play No. 6 Mary Hardin-Baylor (27-2) next weekend at a date, time, and location to be determined. Check back at athletics.case.edu later in the week for more details as information becomes available. The Titans end their season with a record of 23-4.
The Spartans, down by 16 points early in the second half, faced a 72-67 deficit with 42.9 seconds remaining in the contest. Senior forward Ryan Newton, who finished with a team-high 21 points and nine rebounds, drained a three-pointer with 32.2 seconds left to bring CWRU within two. After two free throws from UW-Oshkosh, graduate student guard Mitch Prendergast drew a foul on a three-point attempt with 23.8 seconds until the end of regulation and made all three free throws to cut the deficit to one, 74-73. The Spartans, playing press defense, regained possession with a turnover and gave themselves a chance to take the lead. Following a missed layup from Newton, Frilling came crashing into the paint, collected the offensive rebound, and made the go-ahead basket.
Up 75-74 and needing one final stop, Prendergast forced a steal with less than two seconds remaining. He converted twice from the charity stripe with 1.1 seconds left on the clock to seal the Spartan victory. Prendergast finished with 15 points, including the five clutch free throws in the game's final minute.
Sophomore forward Hunter Drenth had a career day, finishing with a career-high 19 points on eight-of-10 (80.0%) from the field and tying a career high with five rebounds. He scored 10 points and did not miss a shot in the first half.
After trailing by 16 points early in the second half, Case Western Reserve cut the deficit to three, 51-48, with a 15-4 run capped by a layup from Drenth. Newton tied the game at 55 with just over seven minutes remaining in regulation on a three-point play. A three-pointer put the Titans ahead 60-57, but Newton responded with another three-point play to tie the game with 4:55 left in the second half. Frilling made a pair of free throws at 4:08 to put the Spartans ahead for the first time since early in the game, 62-60.
However, the Titans used an 8-0 run to reclaim the lead with 2:28 remaining in regulation. Prendergast stopped the run with a three-pointer to cut the deficit down to three, but UW-Oshkosh converted a layup to extend the lead to five, 70-65, with 1:52 remaining. Following back-to-back scoreless possessions, sophomore guard Luke Thorburn made two free throws to keep the Spartans in the game with 47.9 seconds remaining.
After scoring the first basket of the game, Case Western Reserve kept with UW-Oshkosh early in the contest, trailing 19-15 midway through the first half. The Titans then opened an 11-point lead, 30-19, over the next three minutes. CWRU responded with a 6-0 run, capped by a jumper from Drenth, to cut the deficit to five. However, the hosts expanded their lead with an 11-2 run over the final five minutes of the half and held a 41-27 advantage at the break.
The CWRU bench, led by Drenth and Newton, scored 44 of the team's 77 points. The Spartans shot 48.4% from the field and 54.8% in the second half. They held the Titans to 40.3% from the field, including 34.5% in the second half.