Box Score Dec. 3, 2005
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MILWAUKEE - Joah Tucker scored 23 points, Chris Hill 16 and Adrian Tigert 14 as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee defeated Saint Louis 82-71 in a nonconference basketball game Saturday night.
Avery Smith added 11 for the Panthers, who evened their record at 2-2 as they beat the Billikens for the second straight season.
For Saint Louis (2-2), Tommie Liddell scored a career-high 22 points, Ian Vouyoukas 15, Dwayne Polk and Kevin Lisch 12 apiece.
The Panthers took control of the game with an 18-8 run midway through the second half. Tucker scored with 13:44 left to put the Panthers ahead for good at 45-44 and Allan Hanson followed with another basket for a four-point advantage. Saint Louis pulled within 50-48 on a pair of free throws by Lisch but Mark Pancratz scored and Tucker hit two free throws to boost the lead back to 54-48. The Billikens never got that close again.
UWM extended the advantage to 63-54 on a layup by Tucker and to 71-59 on a pair of free throws by Smith and eventually led by as many as 14 points down the stretch.
"Saint Louis is a team that could make you take a lot of outside shots and make you become very impatient," Milwaukee head coach Rob Jeter said. "We did a good job of moving the ball and getting it inside and, eventually, they're going to have to come out of there and you're going to wear them down. I thought that's what happened. We just stayed committed to being aggressive towards the rim, got some fouls, got some easy outside looks and the game just opened up for us."
The 51-point effort by the Panthers in the second half helped them respond to a red-hot shooting effort by the Billikens in the first half. Liddell scored 17 points in the first 20 minutes to lead Saint Louis to a 33-31 lead. He was nearly unstoppable as he made 8-of-11 shots in the period, surpassing the career scoring high of 13 points he set Nov. 22 against Eastern Illinois in just the first 20 minutes.
The Panthers' effort Saturday included a number of positive numbers. They had just eight turnovers to go with 15 assists, and they shot 52.4 percent from the field in the second half. UWM also continued its march to the free throw line, converting on 28-of-37 chances from the charity stripe.
"We are going to live or die by the way we defend," SLU head coach Brad Soderberg said. "In our two home wins we've defended great and in our two road losses we've defended poorly. Now, a lot of that has to do with our opponent. Hawaii was very good and, ironically, had a lot of juniors and seniors. And then tonight, I just thought they out-executed us in the second half. I thought their seniors showed their experience and their toughness and the fact they are tournament tested. They just executed better than we did."
UWM returns to action Tuesday night, playing at South Dakota State. The game can been seen on WMLW in Milwaukee. The Panthers' next home game is next Saturday against Hawai'i.
The Associated Press contributed to this story
