Feb. 26, 2013

Box Score

GREEN BAY, Wis. - Alec Brown scored 28 points and Green Bay used a 15-1 run to take control of the game late in the second half en route to a 78-61 win over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Tuesday night at the Resch Center.

The Panthers were within 57-52 after a Paris Gulley jumper with 6:24 remaining but Green Bay scored nine points over the next 70 seconds to seize control of the game.

Gulley led Milwaukee (8-23, 3-13 Horizon) with 19 points while Jordan Aaron and Demetrius Harris added 15 apiece. But the Panthers shot just 37.5 percent from the floor and connected just four times from three-point range.

Meanwhile, in addition to the career night from Brown, Green Bay (16-13, 10-5) got 18 points from Keifer Sykes and 15 from Greg Mays in moving into sole possession of third place in the Horizon League.

The game marked the end of the regular season for the Panthers, who know they will be the ninth seed in the league tournament and will await the results of Saturday's games to determine their opponent for Tuesday's first round. If Green Bay beats Valparaiso Saturday, the Panthers will play at Wright State. But if the Phoenix lose and the Raiders win, Milwaukee would make a return trip to Green Bay.

But this time in Green Bay, UWM could not overcome a 40-22 deficit in points in the paint or a 36-25 rebounding disadvantage. Plus the Phoenix shot nearly 53 percent from the field, including a stellar 10-of-12 effort by Brown.

"Looking down at the stats there are a couple of things that really jump out at you," Milwaukee head coach Rob Jeter said. "One is the way they controlled the paint. Then their ability to rebound - they outrebounded us by 11 - and obviously Alec Brown. He could not be matched out there. We allowed him to get into a rhythm and there was no stopping him after that."

The Panthers were able to recover from a slow start to be in the game by halftime. Milwaukee fell into an 18-9 hole following a layin by Brown with 12:20 remaining, and then a follow-up basket by Brown and two free throws from Sykes made it 29-17.

The lead was still 32-22 on a Brown three-pointer with 1:50 remaining but Milwaukee had the final surge of the half, as four free throws by Aaron brought the Panthers to within 32-26 at the break.

Milwaukee then scored the first points of the second half, as a pair of Harris free throws made it 32-28. The Panthers eventually got to within 34-32 on a Gulley basket with 18:25 left and were still within 37-34 on a Harris basket 40 seconds later.

The Phoenix again rebuilt a double-digit lead, with a pair of Sykes free throws pushing the lead back to 55-44. But Milwaukee answered again, with a dunk by Harris and a jumper from Gulley making it 57-52.

That set the stage for Green Bay's decisive burst, as the Phoenix scored nine points in 70 seconds to build a 66-52 advantage. The lead then hit 72-53 on a Brown follow-up hoop with under four minutes to play and both teams emptied their bench.