Nov. 17, 2010

Box Score  |  Postgame Extra

NIAGARA FALLS, NY - Tone Boyle scored 27 points to lead four players in double figures and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee blitzed Niagara early in the second half en route to a 90-73 win Wednesday night at the Gallagher Center.

The Panthers (2-2) led by as many as 21 points in the final 20 minutes in capturing their second-straight win to close out a season-opening four-game, coast-to-coast road trip.

Tony Meier added 17 points, Ryan Allen 15 and Anthony Hill 12 for Milwaukee, which shot 48.5 percent from the field and made eight 3-pointers.

The win avenges a loss to the Purple Eagles in last year's BracketBusters contest in Milwaukee.

After 5,000 miles of travel, the final 20 minutes of this four-game journey was the best of the trip for the Panthers.

UWM led just 47-45 late in the first half but scored the final point of the frame plus the first 10 of the second half to take control of the game. The lead grew to 69-50 with 12:30 remaining and the Panthers were never seriously threatened from there.

Milwaukee wound up outscoring Niagara, 42-28, in the second 20 minutes. The Panthers held the Purple Eagles to just 8-of-29 shooting during the second half while UWM made 16 field goals, grabbed nine offensive rebounds and had just four turnovers.

Kashief Edwards had 22 points while Antoine Mason added 18 for Niagara, which was playing its season opener and lost for just the ninth time in the last three-plus seasons in the tiny Gallagher Center.

The Panthers led most of the way during a breakneck first 20 minutes. After Niagara claimed an early 13-9 lead, the Panthers took a 20-15 lead on a three-pointer by Meier with 11:52 remaining. Milwaukee expanded that lead to 30-19 on back-to-back threes by Boyle and eventually led 33-21 on another three by Meier with 7:28 left.

Niagara made a spirited comeback from there. A three-point play by Edwards brought the Purple Eagles to within 42-37 with just under four minutes remaining and a hoop by Skylar Jones closed the gap to 47-45 with one minute left.

The deciding run actually started with a Mitchell Carter free throw before halftime, and then five points from Boyle and five from Hill made it 58-45 less than three minutes into the half.

A layin from Hill and a layin from Ja'Rob McCallum pushed the edge all the way out to 69-50 with 12:30 remaining, and the Panthers really just played keep-away from there. A three from Meier kept the lead at 82-65 and a layup from Boyle capped his night and made it 90-69 with still two-plus minutes remaining.

Milwaukee and Sweet 16 qualifier Northern Iowa square off Saturday at the U.S. Cellular Arena in the Panthers' home opener. The game tips off at 7 p.m. CST.