Feb. 13, 2003

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - Clay Tucker hit a three-point shot with 24 seconds remaining to send the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to an 81-78 victory over Illinois-Chicago Thursday night in front of a wild crowd at the Klotsche Center.

After Martell Bailey gave UIC a 78-76 lead on a running jumper in the lane with 43 seconds remaining, Tucker replied with a three over Cedrick Banks from the left wing gave UWM a 79-78 lead. Jonathan Schneidermann missed a three with six seconds remaining and Dylan Page secured the rebound for the Panthers. He made two free throws with 3.8 seconds remaining and UIC failed to get a shot off in the closing seconds as the fans rushed the floor and celebrated UWM's 20th win of the year.

With the win, UWM (20-5, 11-2) moved into sole possession of first place in the Horizon League while winning for the seventh-straight time. The Panthers also completed a perfect home season (11-0) for the first time since the 1992-93 season, also the last time a UWM team won 20 games in a season.

Plus, UWM secured no worse than a top three finish in the league, meaning the Horizon League quarterfinals and semifinals, plus the title game if UWM is involved, will be played in Milwaukee.

But it was anything but easy on Senior Night.

The Panthers trailed 67-59 with 7:56 to play before rallying. They pulled within 76-75 on a Tucker jumper with 2:39 left and then tied the game on a Page free throw with 43 seconds remaining. Bailey scored on the next UIC possession before Tucker's heroics won the game for the Panthers.

"This is a pretty special Milwaukee basketball team led by Clay Tucker," UWM head coach Bruce Pearl said. "Clay stepped up in every way possible. The way he got to the rim and slashed gives him a chance to get to the next level."

UWM seemed to weather a storm all night from UIC before riding their depth and the energy of the crowd to a dominating finish in the last eight minutes, outscoring UIC 22-11 down the stretch.

"We took a really good shot from UIC," UWM head coach Bruce Pearl said. "They played very well. We hung in there and gave ourselves a chance. That's all you can do.

"This is the biggest win we've had here, and certainly the most meaningful"

UIC (15-7, 9-4) was led by 28 points from Cedrick Banks and 24 points and 13 rebounds from Armond Williams.

Tucker added five rebounds and five assists on the night while fellow senior Ronnie Jones added 21 points for the Panthers, including UWM's first 12 points of the game. Page added 15 and seven rebounds.

UWM shot 61.5 percent in the second half after shooting just 43.3 percent in the first 20 minutes. UIC, meanwhile, shot 50 percent in the first half but just 44.8 in the second half as four of UIC's five starters played at least 36 minutes.

"I can't give UIC enough credit for the way they came in and played," Pearl said. "We've seen a lot of their games and I've been so impressed by their team. I like the way they play."

But this not belonged to UWM's seven seniors who were honored before the game. The electric crowd of 4,738 showed its appreciation throughout and stayed long after the game to celebrate one of the best home seasons in school history.

"Tonight the crowd was great," Jones said. "They gave us a big emotional lift. We love the crowd."

UWM completes a busy stretch of five games in 10 days by playing at Youngstown State Saturday night at 6 p.m. The Panthers can clinch no worse than the second seed for the league championship with a win.