Jan. 17, 2002

Box Score

DAYTON, Ohio - Clay Tucker and Ronnie Jones scored 24 points apiece as UWM strengthened its hold on second place in the Horizon League with an 86-80 overtime victory over Wright State Thursday night at the Nutter Center.

UWM (9-8, 4-1 Horizon) continues to be off to its best start in league history, and has won two road games in league play for the first time since the 1998-99 season.

UWM took the lead for good on a Tucker layin with 3:20 to play in the extra session and held Wright State scoreless for more than three minutes of overtime in building an 86-77 lead with 32 seconds remaining.

"I think the kids have done a great job of buying in and the more successful you are the more they'll buy in," UWM head coach Bruce Pearl said. "We're still a program that's trying to gain respect. When you're a team that's hungry and trying to get some respect, you need to win some games. There's nothing that will give a team more confidence than winning."

Tucker's 24 points pushed him past 1,000 for his career - making him just the fourth Panther in the school's Division I history to pass the 1,000-point mark. The 24 points give him 1,016 for his career, slipping him past Pat McCabe for third-place on the school's all-time Division I scoring list. Tucker also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, giving him three double-doubles in the last four games.

"Clay is one of the best players in the league," Pearl said. "He is a high-major athlete who has developed skills toward becoming a high-major player."

The Raiders, who knocked off then-unbeaten Butler in Indianapolis to open the league season and who had gone 2-2 on a four-game road swing to start league play, fell for the first time at home this season and to UWM at home for the first time since the 1997-98 season.

"I don't think there's any question we caught Wright State at a good time for us," Pearl said. "I thought fatigue was definitely a factor. They are the most dangerous perimeter team I've seen."

Jesse Deister and Seth Doliboa scored 20 points apiece to lead Wright State (9-6, 2-3).

UWM exploded late in the first half to build a 12-point lead at intermission. Wright State cut the early Panther advantage to two at 35-33, but the Panthers scored the final 10 points of the half. A Kalombo Kadima layin made it 40-33, then Tucker knocked down two free throws with 14 seconds remaining after recording his third steal of the first half. After Chris Hill drew a charge on Vernard Hollins, with 4.5 seconds remaining, Jason Frederick buried a three at the horn to give the Panthers a 45-33 lead.

The Raiders fought back from the 12-point deficit to pull within one at 52-51 with 13:20 to play. But the Panthers responded by rebuilding the lead to 10 at 72-62 with 7:25 remaining and still led 74-66 with 3:18 left following two free throws by Adrian Tigert. Wright State then scored the final eight points of regulation to force the extra session.

Jones, much as he did in the last Panther road contest at Youngstown State, exploded in the first half, knocking down 6-of-7 shots for 15 points in just 12 minutes of action. Tucker, playing close to his hometown of Lima, Ohio, added 14 more for the Panthers in the first 20 minutes of basketball.

UWM took the lead for good in the first half at 18-17 with just under 12 minutes remaining. The first eight minutes of the half saw six lead changes and five ties before the Panthers took control with their late run.

The Panthers continue their road trip Saturday, traveling to Indianapolis for a Saturday contest with Butler. The game, which tips off at 1 p.m. CST, can be seen live in Milwaukee on Fox Sports North.