Feb. 26, 2005

Box Score

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Ed McCants scored 21 points to pass 1,000 for his University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee career while Joah Tucker (16 points) and Adrian Tigert (10 points) joined him in double figures as the Panthers wrapped up the regular season with an 81-59 win at Cleveland State Saturday night.

The Panthers (22-5, 14-2 Horizon), who had already clinched their second-straight regular season Horizon League title, have now won seven-straight games and 15 of their last 16. They will also win the league title by at least three games, the largest margin for a league champ since Butler won the 1999-2000 crown by three games.

UWM's defense also was stellar again, limiting the Vikings (9-16, 6-10) to just 29.7 percent shooting for the game, including a meager 19.4 percent clip in the second half.

The Panthers have now won 11 road games, a school record, and finished with a 7-1 mark in league road games.

"There was a lot at stake for both teams. Cleveland State was trying to finish sixth and get a home game and we were playing to stay on the bubble, if you will, and get number 22," UWM head coach Bruce Pearl said. "14-2 was the league record Butler got an at-large with and we were conscious of that. We knew how well Cleveland State was playing at home and we knew we were going to get a very aggressive defensive effort from them."

UWM left little doubt it was not overlooking the Vikings in the first 10 minutes of the game, building a 24-10 lead by the 10:11 mark of the first half. The Panthers then led by as many as 18 points in the first 20 minutes and held a 12-point lead at the half.

The Panthers put the game away quickly in the second half, holding Cleveland State without a field goal for a six-minute span in building a 55-35 lead with 15:44 remaining. The Vikings never got any closer than 17 points from there and the Panthers were able to use their bench liberally throughout the game.

The game was far from pretty in the second 20 minutes, though, as the two teams combined to make just 16 of 63 shots from the field.

"We shot 55 percent in the first half. We looked sharp and at halftime people at the concession stand were probably saying, `That's a good basketball team,'" Pearl said. "I just think you have to give Cleveland State credit. They came out and defended and were physical and our guys may have been looking at the scoreboard for when the game was going to be over. We stopped executing."

Fourteen different UWM players played in the contest, with 12 players breaking into the scoring column. The Panthers were also strong from the foul line, making 27-of-34 chances. UWM also forced 23 turnovers and collected 10 steals.

"I'm very pleased with our conference championship but I am surprised by the margin because I think, one through eight, there's a lot of parity," Pearl said. "A lot of teams have been beating up on each other and we managed to stay above that."

UWM, which had a week off entering this contest, will enjoy another week off before returning to action in the Horizon League Tournament semifinals. The Panthers will play at 7 p.m. Saturday at the U.S. Cellular Arena against an opponent to be determined.