Feb. 12, 2005

Box Score |  Quotes

MILWAUKEE - Joah Tucker led the way with 18 points as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee claimed a 90-67 victory over Youngstown State and at least a share of its second-straight Horizon League regular season title Saturday night at the U.S. Cellular Arena.

The Panthers (19-5, 12-2 Horizon) would wrap up the outright title with another win or another UW-Green Bay loss.

Boo Davis added 17 points while Chris Hill and Ed McCants pitched in with 13 points apiece as the Panthers sent their season-high crowd of 6,455 home happy.

Quin Humphrey led Youngstown State (4-19, 2-11) with 16 points.

Despite the fact the win gave the Panthers a league title, their reaction was extremely subdued.

"At this point, I think we'll hold off on talking about that. We still have two games to go in the league and we have an opportunity to be outright champions and we're not," UWM head coach Bruce Pearl said. "We didn't talk about it. In the locker room or anything, we didn't say a word about the championship because the way we look at it, we have 19 wins and we're going to try to get 22 in the regular season. If we win Wednesday night, we'll talk about a championship."

After a sluggish first 10 minutes, the Panthers gradually built a solid halftime advantage. UWM trailed 15-11 at the 12:24 mark following a three by Humphrey, but the Panthers scored 11 of the next 18 points to grab a 26-22 lead. That edge quickly grew, though, as a three by Davis made it 37-27 and a jumper by Tucker pushed the lead to 43-29.

Tucker, McCants and Davis all reached double figures in the first half, combining to make six 3-point field goals. UWM's pressure defense also played a big role in the first 20 minutes, as the Panthers forced 15 Penguin turnovers.

UWM then left little doubt it was in control throughout the second half, quickly building its lead to 20 and leading by as many as 29 points in the second half.

Youngstown State coach John Robic was impressed.

"I'll tell you what, that was an impressive performance by Milwaukee," Robic said. "They played very well. You could tell there was something at stake for them. Their athleticism and their depth really hurt us tonight. They are just a better team than we are right now."

The Panthers shot nearly 52 percent from the field for the game and all 14 players dressed for the game played. UWM's defense also limited the Penguins to just 37 percent shooting in the second half.

UWM returns to action Wednesday night, hosting Butler on Senior Night at the U.S. Cellular Arena. The game tips off at 7 p.m.