Jan. 11, 2007

Box Score |  Quotes |  Notes

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Allan Hanson scored 15 points to lead three players in double figures as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee claimed a 60-48 win over Cleveland State Thursday night at the Wolstein Center.

The Panthers (5-13, 2-3 Horizon) finished the game on a 20-7 run in claiming their first road win of the season.

Avery Smith added 12 points and Marcus Skinner contributed 10 points and six rebounds off the bench for Milwaukee, which limited Cleveland State to just 31.6 percent shooting from the field.

Carlos English scored 12 points to lead the Vikings (6-12, 0-5) who led by eight points early in the second half before scoring just 16 points over the final 19 minutes of the game.

"In the first half, we took a lot of perimeter shots," UWM head coach Rob Jeter said. "In the second half, we kind of settled in, moved the ball, tried to get the ball inside more and stayed away from the three-point attempts. As a result, we were able to get better looks."

The Panthers' impressive finishing run started after a Bahaadar Russell three-pointer gave Cleveland State a 41-40 lead with 7:48 remaining. UWM quickly answered with six-straight points before seeing the Vikings cut the lead back to 46-45. It was all Panthers from there, though, as a three-pointer by Nick Hansen and baskets by Skinner and Hanson pushed the lead to 53-45 with 2:53 remaining.

CSU cut the lead back to 53-48 with 2:41 left, but the Vikings would not score again. Hanson scored on a layup as the shot clock ran down and then added four free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Each team held a six-point lead in the first 20 minutes before Cleveland State carried a 28-24 lead into the locker room. The Panthers built the first advantage, going up 16-10 on a Ricky Franklin three and then leading 18-12 on a pair of Hanson free throws.

But, as the Panthers went six minutes without scoring, the Vikings scored 12-straight points to claim a 24-18 lead. UWM then pulled back to within two points on two occasions before an English basket just before the buzzer gave the Vikings a four-point halftime lead.

The Vikings quickly scored the first four points of the second half to build a 32-24 lead, but CSU was never able to sustain its offense. The Panthers tied the game at 34 with under 13 minutes to play and took the lead for the first time in the second half on a Kevin Massiah layin with just over nine minutes to play.

UWM returns to action Saturday night, facing Youngstown State at the Beeghly Center. The game tips off at 6:30 p.m. CST and can be seen live on WMLW in Milwaukee.