Feb. 17, 2000

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - Despite a career-high 29 points from senior guard Shaun Fountain, the UW-Milwaukee men's basketball team was handed its worst conference loss of the season, 84-72, by MCC-leading Butler Thursday night.

The Panthers missed the 14.3 ppg of freshman guard Clay Tucker, who sat out the game with a season-ending injury he suffered on Tuesday. The loss marked the Panthers' third in four games, third consecutive conference loss, as their record fell to 12-12, 4-7 in the MCC. Butler's Andrew Graves came off the bench to ignite the Bulldogs for 25 points, 21 in the second half.

UW-Milwaukee jumped out to an early 10-5 lead, but lost the lead to Butler 10-12 with 13:49 to play in the first half. The Bulldogs never looked back as they took a 39-28 lead into the break. UWM cut the lead to 64-60 with 7:44 left in the contest, but Butler went on an 8-0 run with six minutes to play that sealed the victory.

The Bulldogs shot a blistering .689 from the field on 31-45 shooting, as well as hitting 20-24 free throws. Both are highs for Panther opponents this season. UWM hit only five of its 19 three-point attempts, matching its lowest output of the season.

"That's the best team in the league," said UWM head coach Bo Ryan. "Defensively, we shut down a couple of things, but you want to be so tough that eventually it's the other team that's fighting."

Fountain did more than just score for the Panthers as he also lead the team in rebounds and assists with six apiece. Junior center Chad Angeli chipped in 14 points, including 8-8 from the charity stripe. All eight Panthers that saw action scored including nine from freshman Jason Frederick, who replaced Tucker in the starting lineup. Freshmen Kalombo Kadima and Ronnie Jones also added six points apiece.

"It's always about getting better and getting ready for the next one," said Ryan.

UWM concludes its home season this Saturday, Feb. 19, as the Panthers play host to Wright State. Earlier this season, UWM lost to the Raiders, 67-60, in Dayton, Ohio. The Panthers finish their regular season on the road as they travel to Cleveland State, the MCC's second-place team, on Feb. 24 and to Detroit on Feb. 26.