The No. 17 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's basketball team suffered its first loss against UW-Oshkosh since 2009 Wednesday night, falling 67-63 in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference affair at Kachel Gymnasium.
 
The Warhawks (19-5 overall, 8-5 WIAC) are now in a three-way tie for second place with the Titans and UW-Eau Claire, which knocked off No. 4 UW-River Falls on Wednesday night.
 
UW-Whitewater hosts the Blugolds Saturday at 5 p.m. With a win, the Warhawks are guaranteed no worse than a No. 3 seed in next week's WIAC Tournament. A win coupled with a UW-Oshkosh loss at UW-Stout gives UW-Whitewater the No. 2 seed in the tournament and a bye to the semifinals.
 
In Wednesday's game, the Warhawks held a 41-30 advantage with 15:11 left in the second half following four straight points from junior guard Chris Jones (Milwaukee, Wis./Bradley Tech), who finished with a game-high 23 to go with four rebounds and three assists.
 
The Titans (15-9, 8-5) rallied with a 14-2 run to take a 44-43 lead with 9:22 on the clock.
 
A free throw by junior forward Scotty Tyler (Grafton, Wis./Grafton) and two by junior forward Demetrius Woodley (Milwaukee, Wis./Vincent) gave UW-Whitewater a two-point lead with 6:23 remaining. From there, the two teams went back and forth before UW-Oshkosh scored five straight points to take a 56-53 advantage with three minutes to go.
 
After Jones tied the contest at 58-58 with a free throw, the Titans scored on the ensuing possession and never trailed again, hitting 5-of-6 from the free-throw line over the final 25 seconds of regulation to ice the victory.
 
Tyler finished in double figures with 10 points to go along with seven rebounds and three blocks, while sophomore guard/forward Derek Rongstad (Middleton, Wis./Middleton) totaled six points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
 
Woodley added eight points for the Warhawks, who were held to a season-low 34.5 percent shooting from the floor despite committing only seven turnovers in the game.
 
In the first half, UW-Whitewater held leads of 6-0 and 15-7, but the Titans fought to within one possession by the 9:15 mark of the period.
 
A Jones 3-pointer and a free throw by sophomore guard Andre Brown (Kenosha, Wis./Indian Trail) gave the Warhawks a seven-point lead with 6:27 left in the half, and UW-Whitewater held a 31-26 lead by the end of the frame.
 
Saturday's game against UW-Eau Claire marks Senior Day at Kachel Gymnasium. Seniors Drew Bryson (Elkhorn, Wis./Elkhorn), Alex LeGault (Green Bay/Southwest) and Cole Van Schyndel (Kaukauna, Wis./Wrightstown) will be recognized prior to their final regular season home game.