Dec. 1, 2002

Box Score

NEW ORLEANS - Dylan Page scored a career-high 20 points to lead five Panthers players in double figures as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee wrapped up its stay at the University Hoops Classic with a 79-63 win over Maine Sunday afternoon at Fogelman Arena.

Clay Tucker added 16 points and Justin Lettenberger 14 points off the bench for UWM (3-2), which won two of its three games in New Orleans and now has a two-game winning streak.

The win was also the 250th in the career of UWM head coach Bruce Pearl, who coached for nine seasons at Southern Indiana and is in his second season at Milwaukee.

"The team really came together on this trip," Pearl said. "We came here not playing very well and we are leaving here playing well and that's what you want as a coach. But sometimes the players have to experience playing well before they really start to feel it."

Maine (1-4) took its only lead of the game at 40-39 on a Joe Campbell layin with 17:56 to play in the game. But the Panthers responded following a timeout by scoring 10-straight points over the next two-and-a-half minutes to grab a 49-40 advantage with 15:21 remaining.

"We gathered them and reminded them how we got away from our stuff against SEMO (Thursday night)," Pearl said. "We told them to take the shots that we get out of our offense rather than shots that you probably wouldn't recognize."

The Black Bears pushed back and the Panthers led by just three at 58-55 with 9:40 remaining, but embarked on a 10-2 run over the next five minutes to take control for good. A Tucker three pushed the lead to 65-57 with 5:40 remaining and a Tucker jumper made it 68-57 with 4:34 left. The Panthers then led by as many as 20 points down the stretch in claiming the win.

Joe Campbell scored 24 points off the bench to lead Maine, which committed 19 turnovers and surrendered 12 offensive rebounds to the Panthers.

Jason Frederick had 11 points and Ronnie Jones 10 for the Panthers, who shot 50.8 percent from the field and converted nine three-point shots.

Pearl was also pleased with how the Panthers handled Maine's zone defense, something he knows they will see in their next home game Dec. 11 against Valparaiso.

"Maine played a lot of zone and I thought we handled it well," Pearl said. "It was good preparation for Valpo and they are an NCAA Tournament team. They play zone as well as anyone in the country."

Much as was the case in UWM's first two games of the tournament, the Panthers jumped out to an early advantage, leading 13-4 just five minutes into the contest following a three-point basket by Frederick.

The Panthers continued to extend their early advantage, pushing the lead to 18-6 on a Page follow-up basket and to 21-8 after another three by Frederick.

But Maine rallied, pulling within 25-21 on a Kevin Reed three with 9:34 remaining and eventually tying the contest at 36 on a Reed layin with 2:15 remaining in the half.

UWM returns to action next weekend, participating in the SMS/Pizza Hut Classic in Springfield, Mo. The Panthers will face Florida International in their tournament opener Friday at 6:05 p.m. CST.