Jan. 2, 2014

Box Score

  

MILWAUKEE - Jordan Aaron scored 27 points to lead four players in double figures as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee claimed an 82-76 win over Youngstown State Thursday night in the Horizon League opener for both teams.

The Panthers (11-4, 1-0 Horizon) led by as many as 19 points in the second half and then hung on with excellent free throw shooting down the stretch.

Steve McWhorter added 17 points for Milwaukee, which also got 12 points and 10 rebounds from Kyle Kelm and 11 points plus seven rebounds from Matt Tiby.

Kendrick Perry had 31 points to lead Youngstown State (9-7, 0-1), which had won four-straight games over UWM.

Milwaukee was solid much of the night, leading the whole way after YSU scored the first basket of the game. The Panthers shot 46 percent from the floor, made 25-of-31 from the line and outrebounded the Penguins, 40-31.

With Youngstown State double-teaming both Kelm and Tiby in the post, the backcourt combo of Aaron and McWhorter really led the way for the Panthers. The duo provided a big offense punch while combining for just three turnovers in 65 minutes of play.

"Obviously I'm very proud of Jordan. Last year was difficult on all of us, but we learned. We don't want to forget about last year. We learned from that and we talk about it. We want to make sure we're moving in a positive direction this year," Milwaukee head coach Rob Jeter said. "Tonight's performance - his steadiness, his poise, his ability to hit open shots - those are the strengths we're trying to use with Jordan. Steve allows Jordan to play that way. Steve allows Jordan to play with the ball on the wing and I think Steve has really been the big difference for us in running our team."

After giving up the first basket of the game, the Panthers led the rest of the way in the first half. Milwaukee scored seven in a row to claim a 7-2 advantage and extended the lead to 14-6 on a pair of Tiby free throws. After YSU pulled to within three, Aaron capped a Panther run with a follow-up of his own miss to make it 23-14.

Milwaukee continued to answer each time the Penguins closed the gap, with a three from Arians making it 33-24 and another three from Aaron pushing the league to 36-26. Mitch Roelke added another three just before the break and Milwaukee led 39-29 at the half.

The Panthers quickly pushed the lead to 12 as McWhorter scored five points in a row and extended the advantage to 52-36 on a Tiby layin with 15:30 remaining. Milwaukee eventually led 64-48 on a McWhorter three with 9:15 left and then had a 69-50 lead after five-straight points from Aaron.

YSU worked hard to make it interesting down the stretch, with a layin from Perry cutting the Panther lead to 70-61 and a Ryan Weber three making it 72-66 with 1:42 remaining. But Milwaukee answered with free throws every time, converting 10-of-12 from the line in the final 100 seconds to clinch the win.

UWM wraps up its first weekend of Horizon League play by welcoming Cleveland State to the U.S. Cellular Arena Saturday night.