Feb. 28, 2009

Box Score
Milwaukee Postgame Press Conference

DETROIT - Ricky Franklin scored 19 points and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee made 10 three-pointers as the Panthers wrapped up the regular season with a 68-63 win over Detroit Saturday afternoon at Calihan Hall.

Milwaukee used a 21-6 run to break the game open and then held off a late Detroit rally in snapping a six-game road losing streak.

Jason Averkamp added 13 points off the bench while Tony Meier had 12 points and seven rebounds for Milwaukee.

Woody Payne scored 10 points to lead the Titans (7-22, 2-16).

The Panthers (16-13, 11-7 Horizon) now turn their attention to the Speedway Horizon League Men's Basketball Championship, which will find Milwaukee hosting Loyola Tuesday at 7 p.m. Milwaukee is the fifth seed for the tournament, while the Ramblers are the eighth-seed.

UWM survived a sluggish first half to lead 32-27 at the break. In fact, Detroit scored 13 in a row to build an early 13-5 advantage, but Milwaukee countered with a 19-5 run to claim a 24-19 lead. Franklin had nine-straight points during the run, which was capped by a Deion James layin after an Avery Smith steal.

The Titans did fight back to tie the game at 25, but five points from Averkamp helped spark a final run that gave UWM that five-point halftime advantage.

The Panthers quickly pushed the lead to seven early in the second half only to see the Titans fight back for a two-point lead. But, UWM took the lead for good at 44-42 on a basket by James Eayrs with just over 10 minutes to play. A jumper by Meier pushed the edge to 53-44 before a three-pointer from Franklin made it 56-44. A three by Averkamp then capped the run, giving Milwaukee a 61-48 advantage.

From there, Detroit got as close as four points in the late going but a pair of free throws from Tone Boyle and a single free throw from Smith helped seal the win.