Jan. 6, 2005
Final Stats
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Joah Tucker celebrated his 22nd-birthday with 24 points and
10 rebounds and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee again jumped out to a big
lead in overtime to claim a 71-68 road win at Butler Thursday night at Hinkle
Fieldhouse.
The Panthers (8-4, 2-1 Horizon) actually trailed 57-51 with 2:33 to play in
regulation following an A.J. Graves three. But, a pair of Adrian Tigert tip-ins
and two Chris Hill free throws helped to force overtime.
UWM then bolted to a 69-62 overtime lead while holding the Bulldogs (5-6, 0-1)
scoreless for nearly half of the extra session. Butler rallied to within 70-68
following some missed UWM free throws and an intention foul on Tucker that
resulted in a four-point Bulldog possession. But, after Brandon Crone missed a
pair of free throws that could have tied the game, Hill hit one free throw and
Nick Brooks missed a long three at the buzzer.
The Panthers got the balance they desire, with Ed McCants scoring 12, Tigert 11
and Boo Davis adding 10.
They also did a stellar job defensively, limiting the Bulldogs to just 8-of-27
from three-point range, and pounded Butler on the glass, holding a 43-25 edge.
Graves led a balanced Butler attack with 19 points, but the Bulldogs lost to the
Panthers in Hinkle Fieldhouse for just the second time ever.
"Road wins are sweet because they are so hard to come by," UWM head coach Bruce
Pearl said. "It was a great basketball game. The people of Indianapolis should
mark their calendars for this game because it always seems to come down to the
wire."
The re-emergence of Tucker, who fouled out late in overtime, was the different
for UWM.
"This guy here has been struggling and he's been trying to break out," Pearl
said. "Without his step-up performance tonight, we could not have won this
game."
It was looking like UWM could not get over the hump in regulation, trailing by
between five and seven points much of the way. But the late burst at the end of
40 minutes put the Panthers in position to win in regulation. On a final UWM
possession, Davis tried a three from the left wing that bounced away, and two
Butler shots on the other end also fell away.
Overtime opened with a Hill free throw and a McCants hoop and, after Tigert hit
two free throws, it was 65-59. The lead was 69-62 with 1:23 to play on a Tigert
jumper before the Panthers nearly saw it slip away. The intentional foul came
after Tucker had the ball stolen and was called for holding diving after the
loose ball. A layup by Graves with 27 seconds left made it 70-68 before UWM
held on.
UWM's new, smaller starting lineup of Hill, McCants, Davis, Tucker and Tigert
gave the Panthers the desired spark, as they scored six of the first eight
points of the game. Butler recovered, though, tying the game at 15-all with
11:32 remaining in the half.
The teams then traded the lead with short runs from there. The Panthers went up
23-18 on a pair of Tucker free throws with 8:07 remaining, but the Bulldogs
scored six-straight for a 24-23 edge. Four-straight UWM points made it 27-24,
but Butler held the Panthers without a field goal for the final 4:02 of the
half, carrying a 33-29 lead into the locker room.
Tucker scored 12 in the first half to lead the Panthers, while Brandon Polk had
10 to spark the Bulldogs.
UWM returns to action Saturday night, hosting Loyola at the U.S. Cellular Arena.
The game tips off at 7 p.m.
