Dec. 19, 2007

Box Score |  Quotes

MILWAUKEE - Paige Paulsen scored 22 points to lead three players in double figures as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee pulled out a hard-fought 74-71 win over Central Michigan Wednesday night at the U.S. Cellular Arena.

Deion James added 12 points while Marcus Skinner contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds as the Panthers (4-7) snapped a six-game losing streak.

Giordan Watson led Central Michigan (4-6) with 25 points, but the Chippewas had 23 turnovers and shot just 37.5 percent from the field in the second half.

Milwaukee led by as many as 12 points in the second half before hanging on down the stretch. In fact, CMU cut the lead to one on three occasions in the final three minutes but UWM hit enough free throws to pull out the victory.

The win came just one day after leading scorer and rebounder Torre Johnson was dismissed from the team.

"I am very proud. These young men have persevered," UWM head coach Rob Jeter said. "Everyone talks about adversity - it reveals character. I think tonight it revealed a lot of character in the guys that made it on that floor tonight and just battled. Did we make some mistakes? Yes, but we played together, we played with some passion and we were able to overcome a lot to get this victory."

UWM led by six at the half and extended its edge to 55-43 on a three-pointer by Deonte Roberts with 11:03 remaining. But, Central Michigan steadily cut into the lead, as a three-pointer by Jordan Bitzer made it 57-53 before another three-pointer by Bitzer brought the Chippewas to within 62-60 with 5:31 left.

The Panthers hung tough, though, with James converting five free throws and Allan Hanson four over the final minute. Single free throws by James with 21 and then 18 seconds left pushed UWM into a five-point lead, but Chris Kellermann cut the advantage back to two with a three-pointer with 2.7 seconds left. James then hit another single free throw and Watson was unable to get a shot off before the buzzer.

Milwaukee led most of the way in the first 20 minutes. The Panthers broke an 11-all tie by scoring five-straight points and pushed the edge to 20-13 on a baseline drive and dunk by Anthony Hill. Central Michigan did pull back to within two but a three-point by Paulsen re-established a 27-20 advantage. After the Chippewas again trimmed the lead to one, a layup and free throw by Charlie Swiggett along with a leaning jumper by Paulsen gave UWM a 37-31 lead at the half.

UWM had the halftime edge despite seeing CMU shoot 54.2 percent from the field. But, Milwaukee tallied 20 points off of turnovers and knocked in 13-of-18 from the foul line in building the edge.

The Panthers will now take more than a week off for Christmas before returning to action Dec. 29 at Wyoming.