Jan. 27, 2004

Box Score

FAIRBORN, Ohio - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee outscored Wright State 20-7 to start the second half before methodically putting the game away in a 68-53 win over the Raiders Tuesday night in front of 7,159 fans at the Nutter Center.

UWM, the ninth-best shooting team in the nation, shot just 28.6 percent in the first half but knocked down 61.9 percent of its shots in the second half in claiming its eighth-straight win.

The Panthers (14-5, 9-0 Horizon) now have a two-game lead over the Raiders (10-9, 7-2) and a two-and-a-half game lead over UW-Green Bay (12-6, 6-2) in league play.

Dylan Page led UWM with 23 points while Ed McCants added 16 and Joah Tucker 15, all in the second half.

Vernard Hollins led Wright State with 13 points, but the Raiders shot just 35.3 percent from the field against a stellar Panther defense.

"Our defense in the conference has been really strong and improving," UWM head coach Bruce Pearl said. "It's an area we've been focusing on. We weren't a very good defensive team early in the year but we're starting to play good team defense."

Defense was the story for both teams in the first 20 minutes of play as both teams went through extended scoring droughts and shot poorly from the field. The Panthers hit on just 28.6 percent of their shots from the field while the Raiders made just 20.8 percent. Both teams also committed 11 turnovers and the Raiders actually didn't make a field goal in the final 9:56 of the first half.

But, McCants hit a pair of 3's early in the second half to push the UWM lead to seven and quickly the Panthers found themselves up by 15 points at 47-32 with 7:53 remaining. Wright State rallied to within 47-41, but out of a timeout the Panthers found Page inside for a three-point play and UWM led by as many as 18 points late in the game.

"I thought we were more patient in the second half and had better spacing," Pearl said. "We got higher-percentage looks."

Page also was the man mainly responsible for slowing Wright State's all-league performer Seth Doliboa, who was limited to seven points, while helping the Panthers put the game away.

"He's a dominant player," Pearl said of Page. "He takes a beating down there but he stays solid. It's a phenomenal weapon to have."

UWM finally returns home Saturday night, hosting UW-Green Bay at the U.S. Cellular Arena. UWGB hosts Detroit Thursday before coming to Milwaukee.

Tickets for the game are available at all Milwaukee-area Ticket Master outlets, by phone at 414-276-4545 or online at ticketmaster.com.