Box Score?|? Quotes

March 9, 2004

MILWAUKEE - Cedrick Banks scored 14 points and Illinois-Chicago beat the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee 65-62 Tuesday night in the Horizon League championship game at the U.S. Cellular Arena.

The game, played in front of a UWM school-record crowd of 10,254, came down to the final minute.

Elliot Poole broke a tie at 62 when he went around Adrian Tigert to muscle in a basket with 35 seconds left.

The Panthers turned the ball over in the paint at the other end, and Marcetteaus McGee was fouled with 5.7 seconds left. He missed his first free throw but sank his second.

Ed McCants, who had hit 5-of-10 from beyond the arc, then had a great look at a game-tying three with a second to go but was off the mark.

With the win, the Flames (24-7) extended their school record for wins in a season with their 12th-straight victory. They earned their third NCAA tournament berth, all since 1998.

The Panthers, who won the regular season Horizon League title, fell to 19-10.

Senior Dylan Page scored 20 points Tuesday night but was just 6-of-15 from the field and 3-of-6 from the foul line. McCants added 19 points but missed a 3-pointer with a second left that would have sent the game into overtime.

Aaron Carr added 11 points for the Flames. Poole scored 10 and Armond Williams had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

"It was definitely a college atmosphere," UIC head coach Jimmy Collins said. "We brought some great fans here from Chicago and Milwaukee has some great fans. It was almost like an NCAA playoff game."

"We obviously missed a lot of shots that we would normally make and that hurt us," UWM head coach Bruce Pearl said. "But, they're a good basketball team. They will represent the league well."

UWM trailed by seven at halftime but rallied in the second half to grab a 51-46 with 9:53 remaining in the game on a three by Page. But, UIC struck back with a 7-0 run to regain the lead and the contest stayed close the rest of the way.

The Panthers, 72 percent free throw shooters, were just 8-of-20 from the line, where they were outscored 11-0 in the first half. UWM also shot just 37.9 percent from the field.

UWM will now await its first-ever NIT bid, with the pairings announced Sunday night.