Dec. 11, 2004

Box Score |  Notes

VALPARAISO, Ind. - Jarryd Loyd hit the second of his two free throw attempts with 1.8 seconds remaining to lift Valparaiso University to a 72-71 win over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Saturday night in front of 4,242 noisy fans at the Athletics Recreation Center.

Loyd's chance at the foul line came after a controversial loose-ball foul call on UWM's Chris Hill at midcourt. Loyd lost control of the ball crossing the midcourt stripe but Hill was whistled after trying to come away with the ball.

Loyd swished home his second shot after a UWM timeout. He had missed his first try off the back iron.

The game-winning free throw came after Boo Davis had tied the game with a three-point shot from the right corner with 6.6 seconds remaining.

Joah Tucker led the Panthers (6-1) with 20 points, but UWM shot just 38.8 percent from the field.

Dan Oppland scored 20 to lead the Crusaders (1-5), making 11-of-13 free throw chances as his team made 20 of their 25 attempts.

The Panthers, who had been limiting opponents to under 35 percent shooting from the field, were also done in by a red-hot Valpo attack. The Crusaders made 9-of-12 three-point shots in the first half alone and shot 48.8 percent from the field for the game, by far the best mark for a UWM opponent this season.

"You don't win basketball games when you get outplayed. You don't win basketball games when you get outhustled," UWM head coach Bruce Pearl said. "Valpo played inspired basketball and the way they played showed how important this basketball game was to them. It was a great lesson learned. Unfortuantely it comes at the expense of a loss."

Despite Valpo's hot shooting, the Panthers seemed to have a chance to take control of the game in the first half. A three-pointer by Ed McCants at the 8:04 mark gave the Panthers a 26-19 edge and a three-point play by Hill made it 29-22 with 7:04 left. But the Crusaders responded with a 14-6 run to grab a 36-35 lead and the two teams were locked in a battle from there.

UWM had to come-from-behind late in the second half. A deep Ron Howard three gave Valpo a 65-58 lead with 5:04 left. But the Panthers pulled within one on a three-pointer by McCants and a layin by Tucker. Eventually, a layup by Moussa Mbaye returned the Valpo edge to three before the Davis three tied the game.

UWM did force 22 turnovers and had 19 offensive rebounds, leading to 24 more shots from the field. But, along with shooting under 39 percent from the field, the Panthers made just 9-of-32 from three-point range.

Despite all of that, the Panthers appeared in position to force overtime before the foul call at midcourt sunk those chances as well.

"I thought the kid was falling down and out of control," Pearl said of Loyd. "But that's not the game. The game is the 39 minutes and 58 seconds before that."

Pearl felt the gritty effort by a Valpo team that played in the NCAA Tournament last year and had already played Duke, Cincinnati and Charlotte this year made the difference.

"Rarely are my teams outworked, but it happens and it happened tonight."

UWM returns to action Wednesday night, facing in-state rival Wisconsin at 7 p.m. at the Kohl Center.