Feb. 17, 2007

Box Score |  Quotes |  Notes

DES MONIES, Iowa - Drake University got 22 points from Nick Grant and outscored the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee 32-11 at the foul line en route to an 84-76 win Saturday night at the Knapp Center.

Milwaukee built a 16-point first half lead on the strength of a 20-0 run, but then could not overcome 21 second-half points from the free throw line by the Bulldogs or 14 of its own turnovers in the second 20 minutes.

The Panthers had three players foul out of the game, including Kevin Massiah and Paige Paulsen each fouling out within 26 seconds of each other and still over eight minutes remaining in the game. In all, Drake was 32-of-43 from the line while Milwaukee was 11-of-18.

Avery Smith scored 33 points to lead the Panthers (8-20), which outscored Drake, 65-52, from the field. UWM also outrebounded the Bulldogs, 38-31, including 15-5 on the offensive end.

"You can't win games if you are not going to the free throw line and you definitely can't win games if the other team is getting to the free throw line as regularly as they did," UWM head coach Rob Jeter said. "Obviously, turnovers and the fact that they shot as many free throws as they did and we didn't shoot as many, those are just facts. It has nothing to do with talking about officiating and it has nothing to do with pointing fingers, they are just facts."

The Panthers scored 20-straight points during one stretch of the first half, turning a 28-19 deficit into a 39-28 advantage. The run took just five minutes, with Smith scoring 14 of UWM's points during the burst. Milwaukee eventually built the lead to 46-30 with 44.6 seconds remaining in the half, but the Bulldogs scored the final six points of the half to trim the deficit to 10 at the break.

Drake had the better of the play in the first 10 minutes of the half. The Bulldogs built an eight-point lead in the first eight minutes and, after UWM cut the lead to four, Drake rebuilt a 28-19 lead with 8:43 left. That's when the Panthers countered with their longest run of the season, holding a double-digit advantage for the remainder of the half.

UWM still led 52-40 with 17:53 to play, but the Bulldogs cut the lead to 52-50 with 5:21 remaining. Milwaukee rebuilt its edge to 61-53 on a Ryan Thornton three with 11:54 left, but the Bulldogs scored 16 of the next 23 points to claim the lead for good.

UWM returns to league play with its final two regular season games next week. The Panthers play at UIC Wednesday night and at UW-Green Bay Saturday night.