OSHKOSH, Wis. -- The Lawrence University men's basketball team gave No. 3 UW-Oshkosh all it wanted on Tuesday at Kolf Sports Center.
    The Vikings trailed by just five with less than 90 seconds left before Oshkosh pulled away for a 76-63 nonconference victory in the season opener. It marked the second consecutive season Lawrence gave the ranked Titans a tough time.
    Junior Matthew Kaznikov led Lawrence with 18 points as he went 7-for-13 from the floor, including 3-for-6 from beyond the arc. Fellow junior forward Adnan Sarancic added 13 points as he went 6-for-9 from the floor.
    Lawrence got balance from its offense as Elliot Jung added eight points and three rookies made big contributions. Arnav Jain and NIck Hesch had seven points apiece and Johnny Semany for the Vikings. The Vikings also made the most of their opportunities at the foul line as they went 14-of-16 on free throws.
    Oshkosh star Levi Borchert led the Titans with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
    Lawrence got off to a strong start and broke away from the Titans. The game was tied 7-7 when Lawrence went on a 13-2 run to grab a 20-9 lead. Kaznikov started the outburst with a 3-pointer, and Jung finished it with a layup with 9:27 left in the half. Oshkosh chipped away at the lead and grabbed a 31-30 lead at the break.
    Oshkosh came out hot in the second half and quickly built a 43-33 lead, but the Vikings battled back. Lawrence cut the lead to five on three occasions before Oshkosh pushed the lead back to 66-56. 
    The Vikings responded by scoring the game's next five points, three on free throws and the final two on a Kaznikov jumper, to but the margin to 66-61 with just 1:28 left. Borchert countered with a layup, and Lawrence turned the ball over on its next possession. Oshkosh then went 8-for-8 on free throws in the final 48 seconds to seal the victory.
    Lawrence heads to UW-Superior for the Merrill Thompson Classic this weekend.