Jan. 8, 2005

Box Score |  Quotes |  Notes

MILWAUKEE - Ed McCants scored 24 points and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee forced 24 turnovers in claiming a 73-56 win over Loyola Saturday night at the U.S. Cellular Arena.

UWM's defense also limited the Ramblers to just 38 percent shooting from the field as the Panthers pulled away in the second half.

The win gave UWM head coach Bruce Pearl his 300th career win, making him the second-fastest among active coaches to reach that milestone.

Blake Schilb led the Ramblers (3-11, 1-3 Horizon) with 22 points while Majak Kou added 13 off the bench.

Pearl, who took just 382 career games to get to 300 wins, was thinking far more about the play of his Panthers (9-4, 3-1 Horizon) than the milestone. UWM has now won two-straight games for the first time since early December.

"We're trying to get to a point where we're playing our best basketball," Pearl said. "We're not happy with how we're playing right now. But it is good for our guys to know we can get better."

The Ramblers had trimmed a 15-point first-half deficit to four early in the second half before the Panthers launched a surge to help regain control of the game. The lead hit 47-35 on a McCants three and grew to 59-40 on a layin by Jason McCoy. Loyola would get not closer than 13 points the rest of the way.

"I thought it was a good system win from the standpoint that it was a pretty even game except for our pressure," Pearl said. "It allowed us to go on some runs and those runs probably provided for the margin."

After a slow start, the Panthers looked like they might run away with the game in the first half. After a McCants three started the game, Loyola scored 10-straight points to build a 10-3 edge at the 15:57 mark. But the Panthers retook the lead in less than two minutes, going ahead 11-10 on an Allan Hanson layin.

Loyola tied the game again at 13, but the Panthers scored 17 of the next 19 points in the game to claim a 30-15 lead. The Ramblers had seven turnovers in the six-minute span, with Hill scoring six points and Davis five.

The Ramblers didn't go away, though, pulling within 33-25 on a Kou three at the 3:32 mark and again within 35-27 on two Kou free throws in the final minute.

"Milwaukee has good depth and excellent players," Loyola head coach Jim Whitesell said. "I'm very impressed by Milwaukee's team. I can see why they were the pre-season favorites in our conference."

UWM returns to the road for its next game, playing at Youngstown State Wednesday night. The contest tips off at 6:30 p.m. CST.