Jan. 17, 2004

Box Score

GREEN BAY, Wis. - Joah Tucker scored 20 points to lead four players in double figures as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee took over sole possession of first place in the Horizon League with an 82-70 win over UW-Green Bay Saturday afternoon at the Resch Center.

The Panthers (11-5, 6-0 Horizon) won for the fifth-straight time and handed the Phoenix (11-5, 5-1) its first loss in its last 10 contests.

Green Bay recovered from an early 11-point deficit to take a one-point lead late in the first half, but the Panthers grabbed a one-point advantage at halftime and held a double-digit lead most of the second half in claiming the win.

Tucker made all eight of his field goal attempts and Ed McCants added 18 points on 4-of-7 shooting from three-point range to help offset just 5-of-15 shooting from Dylan Page.

Mike King scored 21 points off the bench for UWGB, which shot just 30.4 percent in the second half and went more than 10 minutes without a field goal in the second 20 minutes.

UWM is off to its best league start in school history and won for just the second time in its last 10 tries at Green Bay, silencing the majority of the 7,522 fans in attendance.

"We had to play very well today to beat Green Bay," UWM head coach Bruce Pearl said. "They had won nine in a row for a reason. The biggest positive I can look at is that every guy that played made a contribution for a team that's becoming pretty good."

Adrian Tigert contributed 11 points and 12 rebounds for UWM, which shot 52.7 percent for the game in equaling the most points the Phoenix have given up this year.

UWM turned a one-point halftime lead into a 10-point lead on a Page three with 16:17 remaining in the game. The lead hit 12 on a Kalombo Kadima layin with 12:30 left and the Panthers controlled the game from there, never allowing UWGB closer than nine points. The Panthers led by as many as 16, building a 64-48 advantage on a Page layin with 6:33 remaining.

UWM's jumped out to a quick 19-8 lead on a McCants three with 13:37 remaining. The lead was 21-10 a minute later before UWGB rallied, pulling within 26-21 on a Terry Parker three with 7:07 left. The Phoenix eventually tied the game at 29 on a Brandon Morris hoop and grabbed a 35-34 lead on two Mike Hughes free throws with 25.4 seconds remaining. But, a Tigert basket right before the end of the half gave UWM a lead it would never relinquish.

UWM continues a four-game road stretch Thursday at Cleveland State.