Jan 15, 2004
Box Score
MILWAUKEE - Dylan Page and Ed McCants scored 20 points apiece Thursday night to lead the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to an 80-74 victory over Youngstown State and a tie for first place in the Horizon League.
The Panthers (10-5, 5-0) won their fourth-straight game to tie idle UW-Green Bay and set up a battle for first place Saturday when the two teams play in Green Bay.
Chris Hill added 10 points for the Panthers, off to their first 5-0 conference start in school history.
The Penguins (4-11, 1-5), who lost for the fourth time in the last five games, were led by Doug Underwood with a career-high 29 points and TeJay Anderson with 13.
Both teams shot well, with Youngstown State converting on 61.2 percent of its attempts and UWM on 56.5 percent of its tries. But the difference in game came on the foul line, with UWM outscoring 22-8.
UWM still couldn't shake the Penguins, who trailed by as many in the first half and 11 in the second half before rallying. The Penguins pulled within four points three times in the second half, the last at 65-61 on a basket by Quin Humphrey with 8:34 left.
But Page, who had 14 points in the second half, began a run of five free throws with a pair of his own to boost Milwaukee's lead to 70-61 and Youngstown State never got that close again.
"This game troubled me all week because I've watched enough Youngstown tape to know where they're at," UWM head coach Bruce Pearl said. "Obviously we did not look great tonight. They had our way with us on the offensive end. But you really have to give them a lot of credit. We had no answer for Underwood. He was absolutely unconscious tonight."
"I thought we played really well," YSU coach John Robic said. "Milwaukee played well, too. It was a good game without a lot of defense."
Milwaukee had a pair of scoring spurts to forge a 42-32 halftime lead. Adrian Tigert's three-point play with 12:50 left capped a 12-2 run that put the Panthers up 15-8. McCants' 3-pointer ended an 8-0 surge that pushed Milwaukee's advantage to 34-21.
The Panthers returned their lead to double figures six different times in the second half, the final time coming on a Joah Tucker free throw with 3:59 remaining in the game.
"I don't think we looked past Youngstown," Pearl said. "I think teams have done a good job scouting us. We have to find a way to still score and still defend."
UWM's contest with UW-Green Bay Saturday begins at 1 p.m. and will be televised by Fox Sports North and Fox Sports Chicago.
