Feb. 24, 2000

Box Score

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee earned its first conference win on the road Thursday night after upsetting Cleveland State, 70-67, in the Goodman Arena. The Panthers up their record to 14-12 overall and 6-7 in the MCC -- moving them into sole position of fourth place in the conference race -- while Cleveland State holds onto second place with its 9-4 conference record and 16-12 overall record.

The Panthers controlled the game from the tip to the end, beginning with freshman Ronnie Jones' (Las Vegas, Nev.) three-pointer only 15 seconds into the game, to freshman Dan Weisse's (Oshkosh, Wis.) 25-foot three pointer that sealed the victory with only 12 seconds left on the clock.

The Panthers led by as many as 10 points with 8:27 left in the second half, only to see the Vikings tie up the game, 65-65, with only 1:47 left in the game. Freshman Jason Frederick (Waukesha, Wis.) hit a jumper with 1:02 left in the game, to give the Panthers back a two-point lead. But CSU's Damon Stringer hit his next shot to tie the game again at 67. With only 12 seconds left on the clock, Weisse hit a three-pointer from 25 feet out, to give the Panthers the three-point win over the Vikings.

"We had a play that's a rhythm shot -- the kind you want to take and practice everyday," said Weisse of the game-winning shot. "We all get to shoot that shot at practice and tonight it happened to be at an important point in the game."

Junior Chad Angeli (Wausau, Wis.) paced the Panthers with 19 points and grabbed 10 boards to give him his fourth career double-double. Jones ended the game with 14 points, including three treys, while freshman Frederick added 10 points off the bench.

"I liked our positioning tonight," said head coach Bo Ryan. "I think some of our young guys have gotten better blocking out. They're feeling more comfortable in their rotation without Clay (Tucker) and it helped us here on the road. For us to win on the road against one of the best teams in the conference is huge for our guys."

Damon Stringer led the Vikings with 25 points, while James Madison added 22. The Panthers out-rebounded the Vikings, 42-28, beating them primarily on the offensive boards where the Panthers grabbed 15 boards compared to the Vikings' 8. The Panthers were .421 from the field and .462 from three-point range, while the Vikings were .429 from the field and .357 from behind the arc.

The Panthers wrap up their regular season at Detroit Mercy on Saturday at 2 p.m. EST. UDM is coming off a win Thursday night over UW-Green Bay, 60-56.