APPLETON, Wis. -- Ben Rosenblatt's layup with 1:24 left gave the Lawrence University men's basketball team the lead for good, and the Vikings downed No. 20 UW-Oshkosh 81-78 in a nonconference contest Tuesday at Alexander Gymnasium.
Lawrence (11-1), which has defeated UW-Oshkosh (12-5) in four of the last five meetings, hit 6 of 8 free throws in the final 34 seconds to seal the victory. Ryan Kroeger poured in 28 points to pace Lawrence, and Andy Hurley added 12 points and six rebounds. Dane Seckar-Anderson paced the Titans with 22 points and eight rebounds, and D.J. Marsh added 20 points.
In an extremely well-played game by both teams, Lawrence led by as many six points several times in the second half, but the Titans battled back. Lawrence led 73-67 with 4:23 left after Kroeger hit a pair of free throws. Seckar-Anderson countered with two consecutive layups, and Jordan Johnson hit a jumper to tie the game at 73-73 with 1:52 remaining.
Kroeger then found Rosenblatt on a cut to the basket, and Rosenblatt's layup put the Vikings up 75-73 with 1:24 remaining. Lawrence then got a big stop defensively when Johnson's pass into the post was tipped up in the air by Chris Page to force a turnover.
The Titans were forced to foul and Kroeger hit two free throws with 34 seconds left to put the Vikings up 77-73. Oshkosh's Matt Miller was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 20 seconds left, and he made two of the three free throws.
Doug Kadison was fouled and converted one of two free throws to put the Vikings up 78-75 with 20 seconds left. Marsh then missed a 3-pointer, and Page grabbed the rebound and was fouled. He added another free throw to give Lawrence a 79-75 lead with seven seconds left.
Miller, who finished with 19 points, then drilled a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 79-78 with 1.2 seconds left. Kadison was fouled before Lawrence could inbound the ball, and he made both free throws to put Lawrence up 81-78. Seckar-Anderson caught the ensuing inbounds pass about 25 feet from the basket, but he was not able to get a shot off before the buzzer sounded.
Lawrence shot an impressive 56.9 percent from the floor, and the Titans hit on 50.8 percent of their shots from the field. The teams combined for only 15 turnovers.
Lawrence, winners of seven straight, travel to Illinois College Friday and head to Grinnell College on Saturday for a pair of Midwest Conference games.