Dec. 27, 2001

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - Devin Harris stole a pass, drove the length of the floor and hit a layup with 5.1 seconds left, giving the Wisconsin Badgers an 81-79 victory over UWM Thursday night in front of 4,903 fans at the Klotsche Center.

Clay Tucker grabbed the rebound on a Freddie Owens miss with 30 seconds remaining to set up what the Panthers thought would be a final possession. But, following a UWM (5-6) time out, Harris jumped in the passing lane to steal a ball intended for Tucker and scored the winning basket on the other end.

The Panthers had fought back from a 15-point second-half deficit to take a 79-74 lead with 2:30 to play. But, the Badgers (6-5) tied the game at 79 on a Kirk Penney three with 1:10 left, setting up the closing seconds.

"The idea was to get the ball to Clay and get him a ball screen," UWM head coach Bruce Pearl said. "Obviously we never got to the good part of the play because Clay never got the ball. Devin Harris made a great play."

"I just read it from the get go and I was fortunate to get the steal," Harris said.

Wisconsin's Penney led all scorers with 29 points. Freddie Owens scored 18 for the Badgers, including 16 in the second half. Tucker led UWM with 22 points while Kalombo Kadima added 10.

The Panthers' 35-15 second-half run electrified the record crowd at the Klotsche Center, but the end result provided little comfort for UWM.

"We don't believe in moral victories," Pearl said. "I'm proud of how my players fought back and battled. We put ourselves in position. We felt we had that one. It's hard to put into words how it feels to lose out on this opportunity."

UWM sophomore forward James Wright broke his right leg with 10:33 left in the second half and was carried from the floor.

The Panthers return to action Sunday night, facing Colorado at 8 p.m. CST in Boulder. The next home game for UWM is Jan. 5 at 4 p.m. against UW-Green Bay.