MADISON, Wis. – Fueled by a flurry of fast break points in the opening half, Wisconsin built a 27-point lead and ultimately ran away with an 82-70 exhibition win over Div. III UW-Oshkosh Friday night at the Kohl Center.
Sophomore
Brad Davison led the Badgers with 16 points (7-8 FTs), followed closely by seniors
Ethan Happ and
Khalil Iverson with 13 points apiece. Sophomore
Nate Reuvers rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 points.
Sophomore
D'Mitrik Trice, who saw his first action on the Kohl Center floor since suffering a foot injury 10 games into last season, returned to score 9 points with 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Freshman
Kobe King, who also missed the final 23 games a year ago, scored 9 points on 4-for-6 shooting.
Wisconsin returns eight of its top nine scorers from a year ago and opened Friday night's exhibition with a lineup of Davison, Trice, Iverson, Reuvers and Happ.
The Titans, who enter the season ranked No. 2 in the Division III preseason poll, pulled within four midway through the first half, but Wisconsin ripped off a 21-2 run to open a commanding 43-20 lead. The Badgers scored on a layup or dunk on eight of the first nine baskets during the surge before Trice swished a 3-pointer to cap the run.
The Badgers would finish the night with 28 points in transition.
The Badgers made their first 10 free throws of the night and finished 18-for-27 (66.7%) at the stripe. UW shot 46.2 percent from the field overall, while limiting UW-Oshkosh to 40.0 percent and 27.6 percent (8-29) from 3-point range.
Wisconsin officially opens the season on Tuesday, Nov. 6, against Coppin State. Tip-off at the Kohl Center is set for 7 p.m. on BTN Plus.
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