Jan. 14, 2006

Box Score |  Notes

GREEN BAY, Wis. - Ryan Evanochko scored 29 points and the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay took control of the game with a 17-3 run in the second half en route to an 84-77 win over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Saturday afternoon at the Resch Center.

The Panthers (12-4, 5-1 Horizon), who saw their eight-game winning streak snapped, shot just 32.3 percent in the second half after leading by eight points at halftime.

Joah Tucker scored 21 and Adrian Tigert added 20 for Milwaukee, which lost for the second-straight season in Green Bay.

Josh Lawrence added 15 points and Terry Evans 14 for the Phoenix (8-9, 2-3), who are now 7-1 at home.

UWM led 59-53 following two Tigert free throws with just over 14 minutes. But, the Panthers didn't score again over the next six-plus minutes as the Phoenix poured in 11-straight for a 64-59 lead.

The advantage eventually hit 70-62 with 7:29 left and UWGB still led 72-64 following an Aswan Minatee basket with 6:10 left. The Panthers did rally, pulling with 74-73 on a Tigert three with just under three minutes left. But, Milwaukee could never reclaim the lead and the Phoenix hit their free throws down the stretch to claim the win.

"You have to give a lot of credit to Green Bay. They played hard for 40 minutes," Milwaukee head coach Rob Jeter said. "They made some plays down the stretch, got some big rebounds and Evanochko tonight, in my opinion, was the best player in the league."

The Panthers started quickly, scoring the first nine points of the game. Green Bay settled down and pulled back to within 11-8 with 16:08 remaining in the first half. But, as the half wore on, Milwaukee steadily built its advantage. The lead hit 33-25 on a Tucker basket with just over five minutes remaining and the Panthers' edge hit double digits at 44-34 with 1:38 left. A Tucker basket with 30 seconds remaining in the half made it 46-36 UWM before a basket by Evanochko at the buzzer pulled UWGB to within 46-38.

Both teams shot the ball extremely well in the first 20 minutes, with the Phoenix shooting 58.3 percent from the field and the Panthers shooting 56.7 percent. But, Milwaukee turned the ball over just one time in the first 20 minutes.

That changed in the final 15 minutes of the game. Milwaukee had six of its 10 second-half turnovers during UWGB's run while Evans and Lawrence scored 20 of their combined 29 points in the second half.

UWM returns to action Wednesday night, playing at Detroit. The game tips off at 6 p.m. CST and can be seen on WMLW.