Nov. 30, 2002

Final Stats

NEW ORLEANS - Clay Tucker scored 18 points and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's pressure defense forced 20 turnovers as the Panthers claimed a 71-59 win over Indiana State Saturday at the University Hoops Classic at Fogelman Arena.

After leading by one point early in the second half, the Panthers (2-2) used a 9-0 run to take a 45-35 lead with 15:58 remaining on a Nate Mielke follow-up basket and the Sycamores (2-2) would get no closer than seven points the rest of the way.

Dylan Page added 12 points for UWM, which had four others players with at least six points.

"That was Milwaukee basketball," UWM head coach Bruce Pearl said. "The guys really, really responded. We hadn't been playing well and sometimes you can keep digging yourself a hole so that it's tough to come out of it. This was a great win. Indiana State is a good basketball program that has been to the NCAA Tournament in two of the last three years, and it's a quality win for our league."

UWM's full-court press directly caused 10 of Indiana State's 20 turnovers and the Panthers shot 57.7 percent from the field in the second half thanks to 10 layups.

"Our pressure was very effective. We made an adjustment because obviously teams scout us and what we do and it worked very well," Pearl said.

After Indiana State closed back to within 49-41 in the second half, the Panthers scored six-straight points on two layups and a Tucker bank shot to build a 55-41 lead with 11:20 remaining.

The Sycamores' final push came with under eight minutes remaining, as a pair of free throws by Catrel Green brought Indiana State within 59-52. But the Panthers responded thanks to five-straight points by Justin Lettenberger for a 64-53 edge with 5:19 remaining.

"We're at our best when everyone is contributing and that certainly was the case tonight," Pearl said. "Justin made some great contributions and the players off of our bench made some things happen both offensively and defensively."

Two separate bursts gave UWM a 35-30 advantage after the first half. The Panthers jumped on the Sycamores with an early run, as a Page layin off the break made it 9-4 before a Tucker steal and dunk pushed the advantage to 11-4

UWM went silent offensively after that, as Indiana State scored 10-straight points to grab a 14-11 lead with 11:01 remaining. In fact, the Sycamores led by as many as five points in the half as the Panthers scored just five points over a seven-minute span.

But the Panthers caught fire before the half ended. A Dan Weisse three brought UWM back to even before Tucker knocked down three-consecutive three-point baskets for a 33-27 UWM edge.

The tournament wraps up Sunday with the Panthers facing Maine in a 1 p.m. CST contest.