Nov. 3, 2006

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - Tyrone Deacon scored 20 points and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside shot 58 percent from the field en route to a 77-71 win over UW-Milwaukee Wednesday night in an exhibition contest at the U.S. Cellular Arena.

The veteran Rangers, picked to finish second in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, shot better than 70 percent for most of the first half and then hung on in the second half for the win.

Marcus Skinner scored 17 points while Allan Hanson had 13 to lead Milwaukee, which also got 13 rebounds from Paige Paulsen but shot just 38.6 percent from the field.

"You get what you deserve," UWM head coach Rob Jeter said. "We're not there yet, and that's just stating the obvious. If you give up layups in transition and give up layups on back doors - those things really become big when you lose a game by six points. I've got guys that are willing to work at doing things, but now we need to be efficient and smart. We were not smart and we weren't picking up on things."

Parkside bolted to a 30-16 first-half lead on the strength of their hot shooting and led 43-36 at the half.

The Panthers rallied to within five early in the second half and pulled within a point at 56-55 on a jumper by Kevin Massiah with 9:03 remaining. But, UWM could never claim the lead.

The Rangers then made key shots down the stretch. UWM was within three at 65-62 with 4:26 left but Parkside scored the next four points to rebuild a seven-point lead. And, after the Panthers pulled to within 71-69 with 1:25 remaining, UWP got a bail-out jumper from Cory Brezovar and four free throws to seal the win.

"This was a great opportunity for our team and I appreciate Rob giving us the chance to come up here two years in a row," Parkside head coach Luke Reigel said. "But, this win is only as big as what we do with it. If we turn this into a lot of wins later in the year, then it was a big win."

UWM wraps up the exhibition season Monday night, hosting Edgewood College at 7 p.m.