Feb. 25, 2008

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - Jason Averkamp scored 21 points while replacing an injured Marcus Skinner but the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee could not overcome a 14-point first-half deficit in falling to Valparaiso, 66-57, Monday night at the U.S. Cellular Arena.

Skinner went down with a lower-leg injury a little over a minute into the game and senior Paige Paulsen headed to the sidelines a few minutes later after being poked in the eye. UWM wound up shooting just 14.8 percent in the first half and, despite closing to within a point with 5:58 to play, the Panthers (13-14, 8-8 Horizon) could never get over the hump.

Brandon McPherson scored 17 points and Jarryd Loyd added 12 for Valparaiso (17-12, 7-9), which kept alive its hopes for a home game in the first round of the Horizon League Tournament.

Ricky Franklin added 11 points for Milwaukee, while Paulsen did return to play in the second half but scored just four points.

The Panthers finished the game shooting just 26.8 percent from the field and made just 7-of-32 from three-point range. But, the stellar play of Averkamp nearly led UWM to pull off an improbable win.

"Jason is a young man who works hard and fundamentally he is very sound," UWM head coach Rob Jeter said. "He can dunk the ball but he is not blessed with blazing speed or the ability to jump over the rim. I am just proud of Jason. He waited for his opportunity and took full advantage of it."

Unfortunately for UWM, the absence for Skinner of the entire game and Paulsen for nearly half of the contest was too much to overcome.

"You can't throw a pity party. Who is going to feel sorry for you?" Jeter said. "We needed 40 minutes of an effort, not just 20."

All of Valpo's lead was built with both Skinner and Paulsen down. In fact, the Crusaders took the lead for good at 7-5 on a layup by Shawn Huff that came after Paulsen went down in pain at the other end of the floor. From there, Valpo pushed its lead to 16-7 at the 10-minute mark and to 28-14 on a dunk by Michael Rogers with a minute remaining.

UWM was revitalized in the second half, quickly cutting the lead to 30-26 on a three-point play by Averkamp with 17:03 left. The Panthers eventually closed to within two at 42-40 on a pair of Averkamp free throws with 8:51 remaining and to one at 50-49 on a three-pointer by Allan Hanson with 5:58 remaining. But, VU scored eight of the next nine points to regain control of the contest.

Milwaukee continues the final week of the regular season Thursday, hosting Loyola in a 7 p.m. contest.