Jan. 26, 2008

Box Score |  Notes

MILWAUKEE - Ricky Franklin scored 18 points to lead five players in double figures as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee claimed a 79-71 win over Cleveland State Saturday night at the U.S. Cellular Arena.

The Panthers (12-8, 7-3 Horizon) have won nine of their last 10 games and knocked Cleveland State (14-7, 7-2) out of first place in the Horizon League. Meanwhile, Milwaukee moved to within a game of Butler for the top spot in the league, with the Vikings sandwiched in between the two teams.

Two players added double-doubles for the Panthers, with Marcus Skinner tallying 15 points and 10 rebounds while Paige Paulsen contributed 13 points and 11 rebounds. Plus, Deion James scored 13 points off the bench and Deonte Roberts added 10 points.

Cerdric Jackson had 16 points and 11 rebounds for Cleveland State, which lost for the second-straight time after opening league play 7-0.

For the third-straight game, the Panthers built a double-digit lead before weathering a rally down the stretch. This time, UWM led by 11 at halftime only to see CSU tie the game early in the second half. But, Milwaukee recovered and led by as many as 10 points late as the Vikings fouled regularly to try to get back in the game. In fact, the Panthers made 15-of-22 free throws in the final three minutes to seal the win.

UWM wound up 29-of-41 from the foul line and also grabbed a pair of offensive rebounds off of missed free throws in the final two minutes. The Panthers wound up with a 43-34 rebounding edge, including a 15-10 advantage.

"I'm proud to be the coach of these guys that have battled and persevered," UWM head coach Rob Jeter said. "They have continued to fight and battle and make believers out of a lot of people."

The Panthers rode a stellar first 20 minutes of defense to an 11-point halftime edge. Cleveland State held an early 8-6 lead before the Panthers scored seven-straight points for a 13-8 advantage. CSU closed the gap to a point on a pair of occasions but Milwaukee pushed its lead back to 23-16 on a layin by Charlie Swiggett with 4:26 left.

The Vikings again pulled back to within four at 25-21 with 2:42 remaining before the Panthers finished the half on a 7-0 run. A layin by Franklin and a jumper by James made it 29-21 before three free throws by Paulsen provided for the 32-21 halftime margin.

UWM wound up holding Cleveland State to just 30.3 percent shooting in the first 20 minutes, including 1-of-10 from three-point range.

The Vikings recovered quickly early in the second half, scoring 15 of the first 19 points to tie the game at 36. The Panthers bounced right back, though, scoring seven-straight to go back up 43-36. From there, CSU pulled back to within two on a pair of occasions but UWM never gave the lead back.

"Coming into tonight's game I thought some of the keys were to take advantage of the opportunity to get to the free throw line," Jeter said. "Cleveland State applies lots of pressure, and I thought we needed to take an attacking posture rather than a non-aggressive posture. Rebounding was the second key because they are long and athletic. We couldn't allow second chance opportunities and we won that battle."

UWM returns to action Thursday night, playing at Detroit in a 6 p.m. contest. The game can be seen live in Milwaukee on Time Warner Sports as well as nationally on ESPN Full Court and ESPN360.