Nov. 23, 2013

Box Score

Cookeville, Tenn. - Three Panthers scored in double figures and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee made its free throws late to claim a 70-63 win over Tennessee Tech Saturday night at the Eblen Center.

The Panthers (5-2) scored the first seven points of the second half to erase a four-point halftime deficit in claiming its fifth win away from home of the young season.

Austin Arians led the way for Milwaukee with 17 points, 12 of which came in the second half. Matt Tiby had 14 points and Kyle Kelm also scored 14, also with 12 of those coming after the break.

Mitch Roelke made four free throws in the final seconds to help secure the win.

"We needed everybody tonight." Milwaukee head coach Rob Jeter said. "I thought our bigs inside did a nice job finishing plays, especially at the end when Kyle Kelm finished that last layup. Obviously with Steve off the court, we were a little jumbled at times; we didn't really have a clean flow to the game. Roelke came in at the end and made four big free throws that I thought was huge. Again, we went to our bench and they helped us."

Dwan Caldwell had 13 and Ty Allen had 12 in the losing effort for the Golden Eagles (3-4) who dropped their first home contest of the season.

UWM held TTU to just 31.1 percent shooting from the field and just 2-17 (11.8 percent) from behind the arc.

"On the road, in a tough environment against an athletic team, we have to give our guys a lot of credit," Jeter said. "We have really pushed to challenge this group to grow up fast and so far they're responding well."

Milwaukee built a 10-point lead late in the contest after a jump hook by Arians in the point made it 55-45 UWM. The sophomore hit back-to-back threes push the lead to seven before his work inside the arc. A free throw by Kelm less than two minutes later stretched the lead to 62-50.

"I thought Austin was perfect tonight," Jeter said. "No turnovers, three assists, seven rebounds in 38 minutes - I thought he played one of the best games he could play. Each guy comes in and they're really learning their roles and really learning how to help the team.

The Golden Eagles would not make it easy for the Panthers though, clawing back to within three with 1:57 to play after a Jeremiah Samarrippas layup made it 62-59.

"That was like a conference game," Jeter said. "That was like being in January or February. I'm very proud of this group. We're going to enjoy it tonight."

The Panthers netted the first seven points of the second half to erase a four-point deficit at the break. A pair of free throws from Arians and a layup by Kelm brought the game level at 28 apiece before a Tiby free throw gave the Panthers a one-point cushion. Then, Arians intercepted a pass a drove the length of the court for a one-handed slam build the lead to 31-28.

After scoring the first four points of the game, the Golden Eagles jumped back to grab a three-point edge at the 15:02 mark, claiming a 7-4 lead. Milwaukee answered right back though with a Kelm layup followed by an Arians three-pointer to reclaim the lead, 9-7, less than one minute later.

The Panthers now return to Milwaukee for a home contest against Judson College Tuesday night. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. from the U.S. Cellular Arena.