Feb. 26, 2009

Box Score
Milwaukee Postgame Press Conference

DAYTON, Ohio - Todd Brown scored 21 points and Wright State used a 15-2 run to break the game open midway through the second half en route to a 70-60 win over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Thursday night at the Nutter Center.

The Panthers led by as many as eight points in the first half and were up by five at the break before seeing things get away during the second 20 minutes. In all, Wright State outscored Milwaukee, 43-28, in the second half.

James Eayrs scored 22 points and Ricky Franklin added 18 for UWM (15-13, 10-7 Horizon), which fell back to fifth place in the league standings.

Wright State was efficient on offense throughout the game, shooting 49 percent overall while making 9-of-18 from three-point range. Meanwhile, Milwaukee made 11 three-pointers but converted on just 9-of-24 from inside the arc.

Milwaukee led much of the way in the first 20 minutes. In fact, UWM turned an early 10-8 deficit into a 20-12 lead after back-to-back threes by Eayrs and Franklin. Wright State recovered with an eight-point run of its own to claim a 26-25 advantage, but the Raiders went quiet after that. Another three by Franklin gave UWM the lead back at 30-27 and a layin by Eayrs provided a 32-27 halftime margin for the Panthers.

The Raiders surged quickly in the second half, scoring 10-straight points to turn a 39-35 deficit into a 45-39 lead with 13:30 remaining. Milwaukee did pull back within 48-47 on a three by Eayrs, but the Raiders scored 10 of the next 12 points to establish a 58-49 advantage with 7:22 left.

The run was far from over, though, as Brown buried a three to make it 61-49 and Grote followed with a layin to push the edge to 63-49 with just under six minutes remaining. From there, Milwaukee never got closer than seven points.

The Panthers now wrap up the regular season Saturday afternoon at Detroit. The game tips off at 4 p.m. EST/3 p.m. CST at Calihan Hall.