Boots, UW-Oshkosh set sights on D-III title
OSHKOSH – University of WisconsinOshkosh coach Pat Juckem has been around basketball long enough to know that when you have a special player on your side, sometimes the best move is to trust him and give him free rein to make whatever plays are needed to survive.
Juckem understands that is the best way to handle junior guard Ben Boots.
“As a coach, I treasure the fact he is the quarterback out there,” Juckem, in his sixth season at Oshkosh and 13th season overall as a head coach, said after practice earlier this week. “Because it makes me look smarter and Saturday I just got out of the way and let him roll.”
Led by Boots’ 36-point performance in a 95-88 overtime victory over host Augustana in the Elite Eight, the Titans rolled into the NCAA Division III Final Four for the first time.
Boots and his teammates are two victories away from the program’s first national title.
Oshkosh (24-7) faces Ramapo (25-6) in the first semifinal at 4 p.m. Friday in Salem, Va. Nebraska Wesleyan (28-3) faces Springfield (22-8) at 6:30 p.m.
The semifinal winners meet at 5 p.m. Saturday.
“We’re going to embrace the moment and try to take advantage of it,” said Boots, a graduate of Kimberly High School.
Three players scored in double figures against Augustana and the reserves combined for 16 points and 11 rebounds.
“I get a lot of publicity but there are so many guys that make our team so good,” Boots said. “It wasn’t just me down the stretch against Augustana.”
It only seemed that way. Augustana held a 50-45 second-half lead over the Titans when Boots took over with a remarkable performance in the final 19 minutes 21 seconds of the game.
Beginning with a three-pointer with 14:21 left in regulation, Boots had a hand in 37 of the Titans’ final 50 points.
Boots scored 29 of his college-high 36 points in that span by hitting 7 of 13 threepointers, 3 of 3 two-pointers and 2 of 3 free throws.
He also had three of his six assists in the run leading to eight points, with the third assist resulting in a three-pointer by Brett Wittchow for a 90-85 lead with 25 seconds left in overtime.
“Sometimes a team rises up and has a career night and a player has a career night and you get beat,” Augustana coach Grey Giovanine told reporters after the loss. “Hats off to a phenomenal effort by an individual and a terrific team.“
Boots’ scoring run included 3 threepointers in a span of two minutes late in regulation to turn a 72-66 deficit into a 7574 lead with 44 seconds left.
The trio of three-pointers came from NBA range and beyond.
“I was able to get some good looks and get a few to go in,” he said. “All the crazy ones were the result of me hitting two or three early. It is a lot easier to hit a 30footer when you hit some in-rhythm threes before that.”
Boots scored nine points in overtime, with two coming on free throws to give the Titans a 92-87 lead with 19 seconds left.
His final numbers: 8 of 18 three-pointers, 12 of 23 shots overall, 4 of 5 free throws, 36 points, six assists, four rebounds, two turnovers and one steal in 37 minutes.
“It was pretty special,” Juckem said. “He is a young man that relishes the moments. And the moment is not too big for him.
“We’ve seen that out of him at times, though maybe not to that degree.”
Boots, a first-team all-state performer as a senior at Kimberly in 2015, has started 58 of the 87 games he has played for the Titans. This season he is averaging 15.9 points per game, is shooting 38.9% from three-point range and 85.4% from the free-throw line and has 141 assists and only 61 turnovers.
He has scored in double figures in 27 of 31 games this season, with nine games of at least 20 points. He has made at least 3 three-pointers in 10 games.
His per-game averages in four NCAA Tournament games this season: 20.3 points, 5.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals.
Boots’ performance against Augustana was particularly important because most of his work came after fellow guard Charlie Noone fouled out with 12:25 left in regulation, Noone scored 32 points one night earlier in a 93-72 victory over Emory in the Sweet 16 and had scored in double figures in six of the previous eight games.
“Ben just knew he was going to have to attack and do a little bit more,” Juckem said. “It brought out the best in him.”
Now the Titans are two victories away from the first national title in program history.
“We thought this team had the potential to be really good,” Juckem said. “And we just wanted to touch that, get as close to that as we could.
“We’re close. Now can we finish it off?”