Feb. 16, 2011

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MILWAUKEE - Tone Boyle scored a career-high 28 points and Tony Meier broke a late tie with a three-point play as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's basketball team pulled out a 79-76 victory over Valparaiso University Wednesday night.

Meier broke the eighth tie of the contest on a layup with 47 seconds left, pushing the advantage to three at 77-74 with a free throw after he was fouled.

The Panthers (16-11, 11-5 Horizon) then held on as the first-place Crusaders (19-8, 11-4 Horizon), who had gotten within one point on a pair of free throws, missed a pair of chances to go back ahead in the closing seconds. Milwaukee iced the win with a pair of Meier free throws and a steal by Kaylon Williams.

The win keeps Milwaukee alive in the chase for the Horizon League title, moving the Panthers to within a loss of both Valparaiso and Cleveland State with just one week left in the regular season.

"Wow, just incredible for the game to play out the way it did," UWM head coach Rob Jeter said. "And we always have these games against Valpo. It seems to be this type of game every time here at the Cell. First of all, I am proud of Tone - being one of our seniors - and the way he played and proud of our team believing in each other. And, really, that last play for a layup for Tony Meier - we made the right play."

Boyle netted the game-high 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting, making 5-of-10 three-pointers. Anthony Hill added a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Meier finished with nine points. Kaylon Williams fought through an injury to score 10 points and grab six rebounds.

Brandon Wood led Valpo with 23, with Ryan Broekhoff ending the night with 21 points.

"Just a lot of things seemed to go our way besides the free throws," Jeter said. "Valpo is a great team. The reason why they are in first place is they don't rattle. They have quality guys that come off the bench that really contribute on their own way. They just find a way to get it done."

Milwaukee overcame a 10-point second-half deficit, with the contest featuring eight ties and eight lead changes overall. The Panthers took the lead on a Williams three-pointer at the 5:34 mark, with the contested shot from the deep wing making it 68-67.

The Panthers would push the lead to four down the stretch, but two free throws by Matt Kenney and a three from Wood created the final tie at 74-all with just over a minute to play.

That set the stage for the Panthers to run the perfect offensive set, with Boyle drawing two defenders, Meier slipping to the basket and Hill finding him for what turned into the game-winner.

The Crusaders had their chances from there, as Wood missed three-straight potential game-tying three-pointers and Michael Rogers missed two shots from inside the lane with under 10 seconds to play.

But Milwaukee finally secured the rebound, Meier made two free throws and then Williams intercepted the Valpo inbounds pass to end the game.

The Panthers ended up shooting 70 percent from the floor in the second half and 52 percent (28-of-54) for the game. They also made 10-of-21 from three-point range.

Valparaiso cooled a bit in the second after making over 60 percent of shots in the first. The Crusaders ended up at 53 percent (29-of-55) for the contest.

The Panthers step out of Horizon League action next, heading to New York on Saturday to take on Buffalo in the BracketBusters matchup.