Jan. 26, 2006

Box Score |  Quotes |  Notes

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Boo Davis scored 22 points and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee withstood a late Youngstown State rally to claim a 78-70 win Thursday night at the Beeghly Center.

Playing against a steady diet of zone defense, the Panthers (15-4, 8-1 Horizon) shot a season-best 54.5 percent from the field in winning for the 14th time in their last 16 outings.

First-place Milwaukee, which has a two-game lead in the loss column over both Wright State and Butler, led by as many as 13 points in the second half after leading by just one at halftime.

Keston Roberts had 17 points and Quin Humphrey added 13 points and 11 rebounds for Youngstown State (6-12, 3-5), which was coming off a home win over Butler Saturday night.

Adrian Tigert added 15 points and Joah Tucker 14 for the Panthers, who also turned the ball over just nine times.

Davis, who scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half, did most of his damage from three-point range, knocking in 6-of-11 tries. But, his 15-footer with 42 seconds remaining in the game stunted YSU's final run and helped the Panthers hang on for the win.

"Boo is a guy that you have to allow to be aggressive," Milwaukee head coach Rob Jeter said. "But what Boo has done is mix in a lot of post-ups and a lot of drives. You don't see Boo just standing on the perimeter anymore, he's posting up. I like that he is making adjustments."

UWM appeared to be in control of the contest after an onslaught of three-point shots early in the second half. In fact, Davis scored the Panthers' first 14 points of the second half and Milwaukee led 50-46 following Davis' 3rd three-pointer of the half. The lead quickly hit 57-48 on back-to-back layins by Tucker and then grew to 60-48 on a three by Hill with 9:58 left.

A layin by Tigert with 7:05 remaining made it 64-51 and it looked like Milwaukee might cruise to the road win. But, YSU fought back, cutting the lead to 72-65 on a pair of free throws by John Barber and then to within 72-70 on a three-pointer by Roberts with 1:10 remaining.

But, as has been the case in close games all season long, Milwaukee got a big play when it counted. Davis's jumper from the elbow made it 74-70 and Hill stole the ensuing inbounds pass, was fouled and hit two free throws to extend the edge to 76-70. Two Tigert free throws with 14 seconds remaining then accounted for the final margin.

The Panthers started quickly in the first half, jumping to a 12-4 lead less than five minutes into the game. Five points from Tigert helped spark that flurry, while the Panthers' defense limited YSU to just two field goals in the first five-and-a-half minutes of the game.

The Penguins found their stride and eventually took an 18-17 lead on a three by Derrick Harris with 7:33 left in the first half. Milwaukee did regain a five-point lead three minutes later but could never surge ahead any further. A basket by Harris pulled the Penguins within a point at 34-33 with a minute left in the half and a layin by Humphrey after a turnover gave YSU a 35-34 lead with 36 seconds remaining. But, the Panthers held for the final possession of the half and took advantage, as a Tigert layin with five seconds remaining gave UWM a 36-35 halftime lead.

YSU stayed close in the first half thanks to red-hot shooting. The Penguins shot 60.9 percent from the field overall while converting on six-of-nine from three-point range. UWM, meanwhile, hit on 51.7 percent of its shots while holding a 22-6 edge on points in the paint. In the game, the Panthers wound up holding a 36-16 edge in that category.

The Panthers play the second of four consecutive road games Monday night at Loyola. The game tips off at 7 p.m. CST and can be seen in Milwaukee on WMLW.