Jan. 19, 2008

Box Score |  Quotes |  Notes

GREEN BAY, Wis. - Paige Paulsen scored 19 points to lead four players in double figures as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee captured a 65-61 win over Green Bay Saturday night at the Resch Center.

The Panthers (10-8, 5-3 Horizon) have won seven of their last eight games, with four of those wins coming on the road. In this case, UWM built a 12-point second-half lead and then held off a late Phoenix rally despite the loss of two guards to fouls with over five minutes left.

But, Ricky Franklin had a key tip-in with just under two minutes left and then Marcus Skinner and Charlie Swiggett teamed up to capture an offensive rebound with 8.6 seconds remaining. Allan Hanson then followed with two free throws to put the game away.

Skinner added 14 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in a stellar effort, while Franklin had 16 points and eight assists. Hanson added 10 points.

Mike Schachtner led Green Bay (9-8, 3-4) with 18 points.

"What I am most proud of is the resiliency of this team," UWM head coach Rob Jeter said. "Once again it was on display tonight. No matter what happens, guys just keep playing. And when I look at the stat sheet, that one extra offensive rebound where Marcus tipped it and Charlie saved it made the difference."

This is the second year in a row UWM has gone to Green Bay as underdogs and pulled out the win, its 12th in the last 17 meetings between the two schools.

Milwaukee's 12-point edge came with 10:50 left, but the Phoenix crawled back. The lead was trimmed to just two points with 43.5 seconds left, but Milwaukee ran the clock down for a Franklin shot and then retained possession thanks to the efforts of Skinner and Swiggett.

During Green Bay's run, the Panthers converted just enough offensively despite seeing Deonte Roberts foul out with 7:08 left and Deion James disqualified with 5:35 remaining. Paulsen scored five in a row at one point, sandwiched around a block of a Schachtner three-pointer, while Hanson hit four free throws and Franklin had his key tip in.

The Panthers recovered from a sluggish start to post a solid first half. Green Bay scored 10 of the first 14 points of the game but the Panthers recovered to pull within 12-10 at the 12-minute mark. UWM took its first lead at 15-14 on a Paulsen three with 9:35 left and eventually led by as many as five points late in the half. After Green Bay cut the lead back to one, a three-pointer by Franklin with under a minute to play sent the Panthers into the locker room with a 32-28 advantage.

UWM returns home for the first time in nearly three weeks Thursday night, hosting Youngstown State in a 7 p.m. contest at the U.S. Cellular Arena.