OSHKOSH, Wis. – The Calvin University men's basketball team opened its two-game Wisconsin road trip with a 73-69 loss at UW-Oshkosh on Thursday night.
 
The first half had several big swings, as Calvin (1-6) made its first four shots on the way to a 13-5 lead, but UW-Oshkosh (7-1) answered with a 10-0 run of its own to take the lead.
 
The Knights wrestled the lead back with a 7-0 run late in the half, but the Titans were able to get one final putback in the final seconds of the first half to take a 32-30 lead into the locker room.
 
Calvin shot 52.2 percent compared to 35.3 percent for the Titans in the first half, but 12 turnovers proved costly to help give UW-Oshkosh the edge.
 
The Titans would hold onto that lead throughout the second half, but the Knights kept within striking distance. A Ty Horky (Manchester, Ind./Manchester/Kalamazoo College) three-pointer pulled the Knights back within two (46-44) near the midway point of the second half, but the Titans answered with a 13-5 run to take their largest lead of the game at 59-49 with 6:47 to go.
 
Calvin continued to battle down the stretch and made it a one-score deficit on four different occasions in the final 80 seconds, but the Titans made seven of their final eight free throw attempts to hold off the Knights for the win.
 
Calvin got strong contributions from its bench throughout the game, as Horky and Daane Harvey (Ada, Mich./Forest Hills Eastern) combined for 19 points, while James Felton (Lansing, Mich./Lansing Christian/Davenport University) added eight points and eight rebounds off the bench.
 
Owen Varnado (Muskegon, Mich./Western Michigan Christian) led the Knights with 15 points and nine rebounds.
 
NEXT UP: Calvin men's basketball returns to action on Saturday, December 7, when it plays at UW-La Crosse in a game scheduled to tip off at 3:00 PM (CT).