Nov. 20, 2004
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MILWAUKEE -
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee shot 60.6 percent from the field and set a school-record for points in a game en route to a 117-55 win over Prairie View A&M Saturday night at the U.S. Cellular Arena.
The Panthers made their first eight three-point shots of the game en route to a 37-8 lead in the first 10 minutes. The lead simply grew from there, with UWM holding a 33-point lead at the half before leading by as many as 65 points in the second half.
Ed McCants scored 24 points to lead four Panthers (1-0) in double figures. Joah Tucker added 18, Adrian Tigert 15 points and 12 rebounds and James Wright 12 points.
Marlon Bussy led Prairie View A&M (0-1) with nine points, but the Panthers shot just 28.8 percent from the field.
UWM won at Prairie View by 17 points early last season but there was never any indication the game would be that close this time. UWM scored 20 points in the first five minutes of the game and never let up on either the offensive or defensive end.
"We had to play very well down there a year ago to win. Not knowing much about them this year, we came prepared to play," UWM head coach Bruce Pearl. "I thought we had a good effort and, obviously, the numbers speak for themselves. On defense we did a good job of limiting the percentage the opponent shot and, on offense, we did a good job of shooting the ball and sharing the ball. I thought we played hard and unselfishly."
UWM left little doubt it was not going to let Prairie View A&M in the game in the first five minutes, jumping out to a 17-6 advantage, capped by a McCants three-point shot. The lead hit 27-8 on a Davis three and grew to 35-8 on a dunk by McCants. A three-pointer by Tucker pushed the advantage to 43-14 and another three by McCants made it 54-17 with 2:31 left, UWM's largest lead of the half.
McCants made all five of his shots from the field in the first half, scoring 19 points.
"I got a lot of stuff off of the break," McCants said. "I primarily try to score most of my points in the open court because in the half-court they are going to key on me and they're not going to leave me much. I think I got a lot of open looks off of the break and my teammates did a good job of getting me the ball."
The 117 points the Panthers scored eclipsed the previous school record of 116, set in a double-overtime loss at Illinois in 1990. UWM also set a school-record for assists in a game with 32.
"UW-Milwaukee did a great job coming out early, establishing themselves and their home-court advantage and then executed for the rest of the game," Prairie View head coach Jerome Francis said. "We look forward to improving and performing on another day."
The Panthers return to action Tuesday night, hosting UW-Parkside in a 7 p.m. contest at the U.S. Cellular Arena.