Box Score March 4, 2006
Box Score |
Quotes |
Notes
MILWAUKEE (AP)- Joah Tucker and Boo Davis scored 20 points apiece to lead the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to an 80-66 victory over Loyola of Chicago in a Horizon League Tournament semifinal game Saturday night.
Milwaukee (20-8), the No. 1 seed and defending champion, will host the tournament title game Tuesday night against second-seeded Butler (18-11). The Bulldogs defeated Wis.-Green Bay 73-51 in the first semifinal.
The winner gets an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.
In 2003, Milwaukee defeated Butler 69-52 to go to the tournament for the first time in school history and the Panthers also won the 2005 tournament
Adrian Tigert, who missed the last two games with a back injury, gave the Panthers a lift by returning to score 17 points and grab six rebounds.
Fourth-seeded Loyola (19-11) was led by Blake Schilb with 22 points, J.R. Blount with 17 and Majak Kou 12. The Panthers have beaten the Ramblers 11 consecutive times, including 94-76 in last year's tournament semifinals.
Davis scored 13 of his team's first 18 points to lead Milwaukee to a 38-27 halftime lead they would never surrender.
With Tigert back in the fold, the Panthers returned to their usual ways of dominating the interior. UWM outscored Loyola, 46-24, in the paint and outrebounded the Ramblers, 39-33.
"We try to score where the percentages tell us they are higher. Close and under the basket is where percentages tell us we'll make more of those," Milwaukee head coach Rob Jeter said of his team's efforts to get the ball inside. "So, we try to get it in there and we like to get fouls on teams. It's hard to get fouls when you shoot three-pointers. We do shoot them, but we make it a point to get the ball into the low block."
The Panthers used a 9-0 run midway through the first period to go ahead for good at 24-17. Davis ignited the decisive run with a three-point play with 11:43 left for an 18-17 lead.
Davis stole an inbounds pass under his own basket, scored and then made a free throw because he was fouled. Jason McCoy ended the scoring spurt with a basket with 8:01 left.
Schilb made two free throws to open the second half and cut Milwaukee's lead to 38-29.
But the Panthers reeled off eight-straight points and the Ramblers never got that close again.
Mark Pancratz ended the surge with a layup with 15:08 remaining and the Panthers then led by as many as 20 points down the stretch.
