Dec. 29, 2003

Box Score

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Kyle Bailey scored 18 points and J.R. Patrick added 11 as Santa Clara claimed an exciting 66-64 win over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the first game of the Cable Car Classic Tuesday night at the Leavey Center.

The Panthers (5-4) could not overcome a 22-5 scoring deficit at the foul line and 27.3 percent shooting in the second half. UWM led by as many as eight points in the first half and still held a 62-61 lead following a Dylan Page hoop with 2:36 remaining.

The Broncos (8-5) grabbed a 63-62 lead with 2:13 remaining on a dunk by Jim Howell and pushed the lead to 65-62 on a Howell basket on a runout with 55 seconds remaining. Adrian Tigert scored with 43 seconds remaining to pull the Panthers within 65-64.

The Panthers forced a turnover on the ensuing inbounds pass but, when Ed McCants drove down the left side of the lane with under 10 seconds remaining, his shot was blocked and no foul was called was McCants fell hard to the floor, with the rebound going out of bounds to Santa Clara.

Doron Perkins then made 1-of-2 free throws with 6.8 seconds remaining, giving the Panthers a final chance to tie or win. Chris Hill drove the lane and found Tigert on the baseline, but his leaner came up just short.

The Panthers will face the loser of the Brigham Young/Idaho State game Tuesday at 8 p.m. CST (6 p.m. PST). Those two teams were squaring off in the second game of the night.

Ed McCants scored 20 points and Dylan Page added 16 for the Panthers (5-4), who shot 55 percent in the first half but made just nine field goals in the second 20 minutes.

"It was a really good game between two teams that were evenly matched," UWM head coach Bruce Pearl said. "I thought we showed some signs of fatigue in the second half. They certainly made enough plays down the stretch to win the game.

"But we had six more field goals and three more 3's and they made 17 more free throws than us. That is tough to overcome."

UWM got off to a fast start, jumping to an 8-0 advantage in the first two minutes. The Panthers maintained an eight-point edge through the first six minutes, but the Broncos tied the game at 19 with 7:11 remaining in the half.

The Panthers then jumped back out to a seven-point lead at 28-21 on a Page follow-up with 5:37 remaining in the half, but the Broncos fought back to within 33-32 with 1:25 remaining. A Chris Hill three at the buzzer of the first half gave the Panthers a 38-33 halftime edge.

The Broncos took their first lead of the night at 42-41 in a pair of Travis Niesen free throws before the teams traded the lead for much of the rest of the game.