Dec. 3, 2003
Box Score
PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas -
Dylan Page scored 25 points and Ed McCants added 24 as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee claimed an 87-70 win over Prairie View A&M Wednesday night in a battle of defending league champions at the William Nicks Building.
UWM had to withstand a strong rally by Prairie View, which won the SWAC regular season crown last year and unveiled its championship banner before the contest. Milwaukee (3-1) led by 16 at halftime and, after Prairie View rallied to within two early in the second half, rebuilt a double-figure advantage down the stretch.
Joah Tucker added 16 points while Nate Mielke had six points and 10 rebounds off-the-bench. Plus, Ricardo Freeman, in the most extended playing time of his young UWM career, scored seven points and had five assists.
Kevin Cooper scored 19 points to lead four Prairie View (0-4) players in double figures.
"It was a good team effort," UWM head coach Bruce Pearl said. "It's a good road win against a team that hung a banner tonight and is picked second in their league this year. Ed McCants in transition really threw some daggers at them and I thought Nate and Adrian (Tigert) did an excellent job against their big guys inside."
The UWM lead was just 44-42 following an Adrian Simmons hoop with 16:05 remaining in the second half. But Milwaukee scored the next seven points to regain command of the game and never let Prairie View closer than nine points the rest of the way.
The final thrust came thanks to Page, who knocked down a three to make it 69-56 before a layin by Page brough the advantage to 73-58 with just 3:25 remaining.
UWM used a 14-0 run to close the first half and take control of a tight contest. The Panthers led 29-27 with 4:53 remaining in the half following a dunk by Roderick Riley. But UWM exploded from there, grabbing a 34-27 edge on a McCants three before pushing the lead to 36-27 on a McCants layin with 1:56 left. The final Panther points of the half came on a layin by Nate Mielke, two free throws from McCants and a three from Mark Pancratz.
The Panthers shot 59.3 percent in the first half and got PVAMU into foul trouble. Derek Flora had four fouls and Riley three by halftime.
The first 15 minutes of the first half were even. After a quick UWM start, Prairie View grabbed a 12-10 advantage. The Panthers struck back, scoring six-straight points for a 22-17 lead. The lead then was trimmed back to two on three occasions before the UWM run ended the first half.
UWM returns to action Sunday, facing North Carolina State in a nationally-televised contest.