Feb. 25, 2010

Box Score
Milwaukee Postgame Press Conference

CHICAGO - Full league tiebreaker scenarios should be available Friday morning

Anthony Hill scored 21 points and Ricky Franklin added 20 as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee claimed a thrilling 63-61 win at Loyola Thursday night.

The Panthers (17-13, 9-8 Horizon) overcame a 15-point first-half deficit but still trailed by four points with under three minutes to play in the game before claiming a key road win.

UWM took the lead for good on a layin by Franklin with 1:50 remaining and then added three free throws to hang on.

According to league tiebreakers, the victory gives the Panthers no worse than the sixth seed for the upcoming Speedway Horizon League Men's Basketball Championship, which means Milwaukee will host a first-round game Tuesday at the U.S. Cellular Arena.

Geoff McCammon scored 22 points to lead Loyola (14-14, 5-12), which led 25-10 with 4:43 remaining in the first half but was outscored 53-36 from there.

After digging that big early hole, the Panthers fought back to claim a 49-46 lead with under 10 minutes remaining only to again fall down, 59-55, with 2:40 remaining. But, a three-pointer by Eayrs started Milwaukee's final surge, with Franklin's layup, two free throws by Ja'Rob McCallum and a single free throw by Franklin finishing things off.

After Franklin's single free throw, Loyola did have a final 75-foot shot at the buzzer that fell short.

After UWM made just four of its first 16 shots from the floor, Milwaukee made 15 of its final 29 attempts. The Panthers also made six 3-pointers in the second half while converting on 12-of-16 free throws over the final 20 minutes.

UWM nearly found itself out of the game in the first 20 minutes. The Panthers claimed an early 5-2 lead but the Ramblers countered with an 18-1 run, pulling ahead 20-6 when Aric Van Weelden hit a three-pointer with 12:52 remaining.

There wasn't much scoring over the next eight minutes, as after UWM pulled to within 20-10, the Panthers went seven minutes without a basket. Loyola scored just once in eight minutes itself before another Van Weelden three made it 25-10 with 4:37 left.

Milwaukee sprung to life from there, scoring 11 of the next 13 points to pull within 27-21 with two minutes remaining. Loyola did add three points before the break and carried a 30-21 lead into the halftime locker room.

UWM pulled within a point at 39-38 early in the second half on a three-pointer by Franklin and then a three-point play by Eayrs gave Milwaukee a 41-39 advantage. The Panthers again led 47-46 after a three-pointer by Franklin and went up 52-50 on another three by Franklin with under eight minutes remaining.

Loyola looked like it might be in position to pull the game out, with a jumper by McCammon and a follow-up basket by Walt Gibler giving the Ramblers a 59-55 advantage. But UWM rallied one more time to remain in position for an upper-division league finish.

UWM wraps up the regular season with a Saturday afternoon contest at UIC. The game tips off at 1 p.m. and can be seen live in Milwaukee on Time Warner Cable's Sports 32.