Feb. 22, 2001

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MILWAUKEE - Clay Tucker scored 22 points to lead five Panthers in double figures as the UWM men beat Cleveland State 86-68 Thursday night at the Klotsche Center.

The Panthers led 30-25 at halftime but used a 21-8 run to grab a 51-33 advantage. Cleveland State would get no closer than seven the rest of the night.

Tucker scored all 22 of his points in the second half, while James Wright added 16 points and 15 rebounds to lead UWM (14-12, 6-7 MCC).

"We took better shots down the stretch," coach Bo Ryan said. "We got the ball inside. We didn't take that many threes because we didn't need to."

The Panthers converted on 7-of-14 from three-point range, and shot 54.5 percent from the field for the game. UWM also avenged a 57-34 loss at Cleveland State Jan. 27.

"I thought Milwaukee played a really aggressive game, and Wright certainly made a difference," CSU coach Rollie Massimino said. Wright missed the first game between the two teams with a sprained ankle.

CSU got the lead under 10 points one final time at 72-63 with 5:14 remaining, but UWM outscored the Vikings 14-5 from there. The Panthers converted on 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch, and committed just one turnover in the final 6:30 of the game.

"We have to learn to handle that press and don't give in," Ryan said. "I think we showed some positive strides in handling some things better than we did at this time last year."

The crowd of 2,738 at the Klotsche Center pushed UWM to a season total of 34,175, setting a new UWM single-season attendance record. The old mark was 33,977, set during the 1992-93 season.

UWM returns to action Saturday afternoon, hosting Detroit at 1:05 p.m. Senior Day activities will begin approximately 12:55. The game will be televised on Midwest Sports Channel.