March 20, 2003
Box Score | 2003 UWM Panthers Tournament Central
By DAN GELSTON
Associated Press Writer
INDIANAPOLIS - Notre Dame won this one for The Clipper.
A day after shaving the heads of his Fighting Irish teammates as a show of
team unity, Chris Thomas scored 27 points to lead them to a 70-69 win over
Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the first round of the West Regional on Thursday night.
The 12th-seeded Panthers had a great chance to pull off the upset, but Dylan
Page missed a layup just before the buzzer after getting a terrific pass from
Clay Tucker.
The fifth-seeded Irish (23-9) are in the second round for the third straight
year, though they haven't advanced to the round of the 16 during that stretch.
They'll play Illinois on Saturday.
The Panthers (24-8) were making their first appearance in the NCAA
tournament in their 107-year history - and first postseason appearance since
the 1989 Division II tournament.
They were in no hurry to head home and played like tournament veterans down
the stretch.
They led 69-68 after Jason Frederick's 3-pointer with 2:28 left and forced
an airball on Notre Dame's next possession.
The Irish had the possession arrow and got the ball back on a tie up. After
two looks at the basket, Torin Francis grabbed a loose ball in the lane and
scored the winning points on a putback with 32.8 seconds to go.
Wisconsin-Milwaukee did not call timeout and Tucker, who scored 18 points,
held the ball as the clock ticked down. He drove the lane and dished to Page
right under the basket, but his layup rolled off the front of the rim as the
buzzer sounded.
Wisconsin-Milwaukee had no solution for Thomas, as the Indianapolis native
silenced every Panthers' rally with clutch baskets, assists or free throws.
Thomas scored seven straight points to give Notre Dame a 48-40 lead, but
that was wiped out by a 10-0 run by the Panthers.
Ronnie Jones hit a 3-pointer to make it 50-48 with 10:22 left only to see
Thomas answer with a 3 of his own.
Thomas made a steal on the next possession and was fouled as he drove into
the lane. He sank two free throws, then had an assist on Notre Dame's next
possession to make it 55-50.
With just under three minutes left, Justin Lettenberger hit a 3 to pull the
Panthers within one.
Thomas hit two more free throws to make it 68-66 before Frederick hit his 3.
Frederick pumped his fist as the small, but vocal, crowd went wild. It was
the last big basket of the year for the Panthers.
Francis scored 23 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Dan Miller added 12 points
for Notre Dame.
Jones had 18 for the Panthers, and Page 15.
Notre Dame stumbled down the stretch, losing four of five and looking little
like the team that was cemented in the Top 10 earlier this year. Its problems
continued early against the Panthers.
The Irish turned the ball over four times in the first three minutes and 14
times total in the first half. The Panthers scored 10 points off those
turnovers and rallied late from a seven-point deficit.
Jones sank a baseline 3-pointer to pull the Panthers within two. On the
final play off the half, Thomas' bounce pass was stolen by Dan Weisse, who
dished to Lettenberger for a layup at the buzzer that tied it at 29.
