Nov. 28, 2009

Box Score
Jeter Postgame Interview

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Deonte Roberts had 17 points to lead four players in double figures and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee rallied late in regulation to force overtime and claim a 90-83 win Saturday afternoon at Anderson Arena.

UWM trailed by seven midway through the second half and by five with 1:16 remaining before forcing extra time. Then, in the extra session, Jason Averkamp knocked in a pair of three-pointers and UWM made 6-of-8 from the line to seal the win.

James Eayrs added 16 points and eight rebounds in spite of battling foul trouble throughout the game. Ricky Franklin had 13 points including a key three-point play late in regulation and Lonnie Boga contributed 11 points.

The Panthers (5-2) have now won four-straight games.

Joe Jakubowski had 16 points to lead six players in double figures for Bowling Green (1-3), while Otis Polk added a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds. The Falcons shot 61 percent from the field in the second half to nearly escape with the victory.

Instead, after UWM rallied to force overtime, Averkamp gave Milwaukee the lead for good at 82-80 with just over two minutes to play on his second three-pointer of the extra session. From there, Roberts contributed a layin and the Panthers made six free throws to finish things off.

Averkamp's two threes came after he had struggled to shoot much of the game, missing four free throws and four shots from the field before coming through when it counted.

"In the second half, he saw the rim well enough to make those two threes and they were daggers," UWM head coach Rob Jeter said. "He was open, we had been struggling a little bit to get clean looks ... and it was good to see Jason get some clean looks."

BSGU looked like it might pull away in the second half, claiming a 43-40 lead on a jumper by Marc Larson and then a 56-49 advantage on a three by Crawford with 10:14 remaining. The Falcons still led 74-69 on a Scott Thomas layin with 1:16 left but the Panthers rallied from there.

A layin by Roberts and a three-point play from Franklin tied things at 74 before UWM actually had a chance to win it in regulation. Franklin's first chance from 18-feet rolled off the rim, and the follow-up fade-away from Jerard Ajami also missed at the horn.

The overtime session didn't start well for the Panthers, who lost Eayrs to a fifth foul just 30 seconds in. Then, the Falcons claimed an 80-79 lead on a basket by Thomas with 2:38 left. But, Averkamp answered with a three on the next possession and the Panthers never gave up momentum after that.

"I have to give a lot of credit to our guys," Jeter said. "They kept battling. We obviously made some mistakes in that second half and we had some matchup problems, especially with the big fella (Polk) down low."

UWM recovered from a slow start to build a nice lead in the first half. After Bowling Green claimed a 14-8 advantage, Milwaukee scored 11 in a row to claim a 19-14 lead. Threes by Ja'Rob McCallum and Tony Meier highlighted the run, as Meier wound up with nine points and McCallum six in the first 20 minutes. The lead eventually grew to 31-23 on another three by Meier and then Boga hit two baskets to push the edge all the way out to 35-23.

BGSU got back in the game before the half, though, scoring eight in a row to pull within 35-31 at the break.

UWM returns home to begin Horizon League play with a pair of games. The Panthers will entertain UIC Thursday night before Loyola visits Saturday. Both games tipoff at 7 p.m. at the U.S. Cellular Arena, and Thursday's game can also be seen live in Time Warner Cable's Sports 32.