Dec. 30, 2008

Box Score
Milwaukee Postgame Press Conference

CHICAGO - Avery Smith and James Eayrs scored 15 points apiece to lead five players in double figures as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee claimed a 71-66 win over UIC Tuesday night at the UIC Pavilion.

Tone Boyle added 14 points, Ricky Franklin 13 and Tony Meier 12 for the Panthers (7-5, 3-0 Horizon), who won for the fourth time in their last five outings and are off to their best league start since the 2005-06 season.

UWM converted 13 three-pointers and led by as many as nine points in the second half before hanging on for the win.

Josh Mayo scored 18 points and Scott VanderMeer added 16 for UIC (8-4, 1-1), which has non-league wins over Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech.

Eayrs scored 12 points in a row at one point of the second half, knocking in four-straight threes to give UWM a 54-48 lead with 10:10 remaining. UIC did pull back within two, but Milwaukee countered with seven-straight to again seize control. The run started with a three from Meier and included back-to-back layins from Smith, giving the Panthers a 65-56 lead with 4:18 remaining.

UIC came all the way back to within a point, as a Mayo three made it 65-64 with 1:49 remaining. But, UWM hit six-of-seven free throws from there to hang on for its first road victory of the season.

"We had a lot of players step up and play some big minutes, make some big shots and make some big plays," UWM head coach Rob Jeter said. "For once, we hit a little adversity and didn't let it compound itself. We were able to put a stop to it ... that's something we haven't been able to do all season."

Milwaukee trailed much of the first half but used a late flurry to take the lead into the locker room. In fact, UIC went up 27-19 on a three-pointer by Mayo with 5:27 remaining. UWM pulled back within 29-26 on a Smith basket with 2:00 remaining and then tied things at 31 on a three by Eayrs with under a minute to play. Then, after a Mayo basket put UIC back in front 33-31, Smith knocked in a three-pointer at the halftime horn to give the Panthers the 34-33 advantage.

UIC led for a final time at 44-42 on a layin by Tori Boyd with 15:42 left. But, the extended run of threes from Eayrs followed that and the Flames would never be on top in the game again.

"It was a big game for the big fella," Jeter said of the performance of his reserve forward. "To see big James hit a few shots and run up the court smiling, that's what makes me happy."

Then, after the burst by Eayrs, Smith was able to get to the rim for some key hoops down the stretch.

"He made some big, big-time drives to the basket," Jeter said. "We had talked a little bit about that in timeouts. We were getting them spread and we were spreading ourselves out, so we were going to have to get in the paint and make some good decisions. That's what Avery can be so good at."

The Panthers will return to action in Chicago Saturday afternoon, heading to the Gentile Center for a contest with Loyola. The game tips off at 3 p.m. CST.