Nov. 26, 2011

Box Score

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - James Haarsma had 17 points and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee made 12 three-pointers to claim a 59-54 win over Arkansas-Little Rock Saturday night at the Stephens Center.

The Panthers (5-1) actually made just six 2-point baskets all evening, but Milwaukee's increased patience on offense in the final 13 minutes paid off.

UWM took the lead for good on a three-point play by Haarsma with 2:08 remaining before two more Haarsma hoops helped Milwaukee hang on.

"The only thing I was a little worried about was the quickness of some of the shots," UWM head coach Rob Jeter said. "I felt like if we were going to take that three we could wait a little bit and maybe grind it out a little bit more. But those were the shots that presented themselves for us.

"We didn't get enough paint touches, and that's why they outscored us in the paint, but we got some timely ones. That was the difference in the game."

Kyle Kelm added 11 points and eight rebounds for UWM, which also got nine points from Ja'Rob McCallum along with eight points and seven assists from Kaylon Williams.

Will Neighbour scored 15 points for UALR (2-4), which played in the NCAA Tournament a season ago.

Milwaukee's defense also came through, as the Trojans shot just 34.5 percent from the field and became the fourth Panther opponent in six games to fail to get to 60 points.

"We made enough tough plays," Jeter said. "Defensively, we took them out of a rhythm. We just did some different things and made some timely plays."

The two teams played an even first half, with a late surge giving UALR a three-point lead at the break. After Milwaukee fell down 6-2 in the early going, the Panthers claimed a 13-11 lead on a three-pointer by Paris Gulley with 13:02 remaining.

From there, the teams traded the advantage, with UWM going up 21-18 on a layin by James Haarsma. UALR made the final push, though, using a 9-3 run to take the lead at the break. In all, the first half featured four ties and 11 lead changes.

UWM eventually found itself down seven points in the second half before bouncing back. The Panthers took the lead back at 46-44 on a Kelm three with seven minutes remaining and Milwaukee was still up 49-46 on a Kelm layin with 3:27 left.

Little Rock reclaimed a 50-49 lead but Milwaukee took over from there. Haarsma actually accounted for nine of UWM's final 10 points, helping the Panthers to their fifth win in six tries.

The Panthers return home this week to open Horizon League play with a pair of contests. Milwaukee will face Loyola Thursday at 7 p.m. before UIC visits the U.S. Cellular Arena Saturday at 1 p.m.