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Men's Basketball

UWM Rolls To Impressive Win Over USI

Nov. 1, 2003

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - Dylan Page scored 34 points in just 24 minutes of action and Joah Tucker added 15 as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee recorded an impressive 99-76 win over the University of Southern Indiana to open the 2003-04 exhibition basketball season at the Klotsche Center.

The Panthers used a 22-7 run early in the second half to take out USI, ranked as high as second nationally in NCAA Division II. UWM then led by as many as 33 points in collecting the easy victory.

"I was very pleased with our effort," UWM head coach Bruce Pearl said. "We played a lot of people and we got some things exposed. But the margin had a lot to do with Dylan. He was a difference-maker."

UWM started four sophomores and played without junior Rob Sanders due to injury, but didn't appear to miss a beat in building off of their first NCAA Tournament appearance from a year ago.

Tucker, Chris Hill and Adrian Tigert, all redshirts last year, joined Mark Pancratz and Page in the starting five. Touted junior college transfer Ed McCants played 20 minutes off the bench, contributing nine points, while Kalombo Kadima and Ronald Davis played significant minutes. Tigert had a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds and Pancratz had 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting.

"Joah Tucker is a load. He is a physically-dominating player and is a pleasure to coach," Pearl said. "And Mark Pancratz showed why he won a state championship. He was playing with confidence and no one works harder than Mark."

DePaul transfer John Oden had 20 pioints while Aaron Austin added 12 points and eight rebounds off the bench for USI, which won a Division II national championship under Pearl in 1995.

The run early in the second half helped the Panthers take complete control of a contest they were in command of much of the first half. UWM got off to a fast start, leaping to a 13-4 lead in the first three minutes. USI recovered to pull within 15-12 following a layup by Geoff Van Winkle, but the Panthers quickly ran off seven of the next nine points for a 22-14 advantage.

UWM's lead hit double figures for the first time on a Tucker dunk, pushing the lead to 29-18 with 9:04 remaining. The Panthers eventually pushed the lead all the way out to 14 points at 39-25 on a McCants three-point shot with 3:56 remaining.

USI closed back to within seven on two separate occasions later in the half but a Page layin with five seconds remaining gave the Panthers a 46-37 lead.

The Eagles were still within 48-41 with 19:15 to play before the Panthers exploded, scoring 22 of the next 29 points. Page had nine points and Pancratz five during the run. UWM didn't let up at that point, pushing the lead all the way to 86-53 with 8:56 remaining before Pearl emptied the bench.

UWM wraps up the exhibition season Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. against Northwest Sports.

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