Blackburn Falls To Top Seeded Wisconsin-Oshkosh in NCAA Tournament

The Blackburn Men's Basketball Team falls short in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh by the score of 92-74. 

For their first tournament game since 2005, the Beavers would travel to Oshkosh, Wisconsin for their toughest battle of the year against the 23-3 nationally ranked Titans. Early on, Blackburn showed they were meant to be here. At the 14 minute mark, senior Javon Stovall would put in a beautiful layup to bring the Beavers within two. Unfortunately, shortly after,  leading scorer Chanz Aldridge would pick up his third foul to put him out of the game for the rest of the half. The game would turn for the Titans after this. Oshkosh would quickly show why they are one of the top teams in the country by stretching their lead to 11 shortly after. Even with being heavy underdogs,  the Beavers would not let the Titans go out easy. Sophomore Izayah Talmadge would put in a difficult layup to bring Blackburn within striking distance, bringing the score 28-22 with four minutes remaining. Unfortunately, the game would completely turn after this. The Titans would end the half on an 18-4 run and go into the half leading 44-26.

In the second half, Coach Kirby and his team would continue to fight like they have all year. Aldrige would go out swinging as he would lead the team in the second half with five threes. Even with Aldrige getting hot, it was not enough for the Beavers. Oshkosh would continue to dominate going up 21 with 13 minutes remaining in the game. The Titans would not stop there as Cole Booth would add to his impressive day nailing his third three of the game stretching the lead to 25 with 10 minutes on the clock. Booth was the leading scorer of the game with 23. After falling by as much as 30, Blackburn would put together one last run bringing the deficit to 24 with four minutes remaining. Coach Kirby would then pull the starters and it would bring the end to the historic careers of Javon Stovall and Bryson Kirby. The Titans would put in some late buckets to finish off the Beavers by the score of 92-74. 

After the game, Coach Kirby was very happy for what is yet to come saying: "We got Chano for another year, we have Izayah coming back who was all defense, Eliot on the inside, guys like Jarrius, Payton, and DK all coming back. We know what we got to do." Coach Kirby was also frustrated with the officials after the game. He was asked if he thought the officials had an impact on the game tonight and he responded with a simple, "Yes, no further comment."

Leading scorer Chanz Aldridge was asked after the game how he can be so effective on both sides of the basketball: "It all comes from confidence. I have been playing since I was four years old and I work every day. I feel like I can play with whoever I am facing." Aldridge was also asked where he sees this team going forward and he responded with a very confident "We will be back."

The leading scorer for the Beavers tonight was Aldridge who had 21 points. Sophomore Eliot Harrison led the Beavers with 10 rebounds and three blocks. Blackburn would shoot a respectable 42% from the field and 38% from three. Oshkosh would shoot an incredible 52% from the field and 41% from three. 

After the loss, it will conclude one of Blackburn's best seasons in their history. This would be the 4th appearance for the Beavers in the NCAA tournament with last year's tournament being canceled due to covid. Blackburn is still looking for their first tournament victory with their most recent loss being in 2005 to five-seed Hanover. Blackburn will end their season with a final record of 11-18 and back-to-back St. Louis Intercollegiate Conference champions.