Box Score Dec. 16, 2005
Box Score |
Quotes |
Notes
MADISON, Wis. -
Boo Davis scored 23 points but it was not enough to overcome 25 points from Alando Tucker and 23 from Kammron Taylor as #24 Wisconsin claimed a 74-68 win over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Thursday night at the Kohl Center.
The Panthers (4-3) rallied from a 20-point first-half deficit to lead during a good portion of the second half but could not pull the game out.
Adrian Tigert added 14 points and 12 rebounds while Joah Tucker had 10 for Milwaukee, though Tucker played just 16 minutes because of serious foul trouble. In fact, the Panthers were whistled for 29 fouls in the game while the Badgers were called for just 15.
But, UWM still had the Badgers on their heels much of the second half. After trailing 37-17 with 5:41 to play, the Panthers scored the final 13 points of the half to pull within 37-30 at the break. Then, the Panthers scored the first six points of the second half - a 19-0 run in all - to trim the lead to 37-36.
The Panthers took their first lead of the game at 40-39 on a pair of Davis free throws with 16:12 left and eventually built the lead to 45-41 with 12 minutes remaining on a Davis three.
Milwaukee still led 50-47 after an Allan Hanson three before Wisconsin pushed back. The Badgers scored 14 of the next 16 points - including nine straight - to build a 61-52 lead with 5:56 remaining.
The Panthers weren't done, though, pulling within 61-59 with 4:09 left on a pair of free throws by Avery Smith and again within 68-66 on a three by Davis with 38 seconds remaining. But, Taylor made four free throws and Tucker two in the closing seconds to seal the win.
"It's a loss. We're on the right side and Wisconsin's on the left side - it's a loss," Milwaukee head coach Rob Jeter said, declining to consider the contest a moral victory. "The only way you can have a victory is to win the game. We'll learn from this game and we'll get better from it, and we'll just go out there and get ready for the next one.
The game marked the return of Jeter to Madison, where he worked as an assistant coach and associate head coach for Bo Ryan for the last four seasons. Early on, it looked like it could be a long night for Jeter and the Panthers, as Wisconsin shot better than 60 percent much of the first half. But, the Panthers rebounded from that early hole thanks mainly to Davis, who knocked in three-straight three-point shots to get UWM back in the game.
"You have to give the Badgers credit. They made a lot of shots. I think if you chart possessions the way we chart possessions, they scored on 15 of their first 18 possessions or something like that. They made shots," Jeter said. "Then we came down there in the end, got some good looks, got the ball in the post twice, and came away with some things. You've got to give Wisconsin credit, and then you have to give our guys credit for just sticking with it."
The game also included two stoppages for replay reviews. The first came early in the second half when officials first called a foul on Joah Tucker, which would have been his fifth, but reviewed the videotape and gave the foul to Mark Pancratz. Then, with under 90 seconds remaining, officials again went back to the videotape for a lengthy review to determine what Wisconsin player should be shooting free throws following an off-the-ball foul. But, that review came after Taylor had already made the two free throws and the Panthers had scored on the other end. The review, though, showed Michael Flowers should have shot the free throws, and officials took two points off the board for Wisconsin and sent Flowers to the line. He made 1-of-2, and then the game resumed from the point at which it was stopped, with Wisconsin inbounding the ball following the made basket by Milwaukee.
The Panthers have little time to recover from Thursday's contest, as Milwaukee opens Horizon League play Saturday night against UW-Green Bay. The game at the U.S. Cellular Arena tips off at 7 p.m.
