Jan. 30, 2014

Box Score

  

MILWAUKEE - Five players reached double figures and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee led by as many as 20 points in the second half before hanging on for a 68-64 win over Wright State Thursday night at the Klotsche Center.

The Panthers (14-9, 4-5 Horizon) pounded the ball inside with regularity in controlling much of the contest. Then, Milwaukee withstood an offensive barrage from the Raiders' J.T. Yoho, who scored 19 points in the second half to make things tight down the stretch.

Kyle Kelm and Jordan Aaron had 13 points apiece for Milwaukee. Austin Arians and Malcolm Moore each added 12 while Steve McWhorter had 10 points and six assists.

Milwaukee wound up with 38 points in the paint and another 19 from the foul line, winning in spite of making just three 3-pointers.

Kelm wound up clinching the win with a pair of free throws with 10.7 seconds remaining.

Yoho led Wright State (13-11, 5-4) with 20 points.

The victory snapped a three-game slide for Milwaukee, and provided a great bounceback from a disappointing home loss to Detroit last Friday.

"Our kids tonight responded," Milwaukee head coach Rob Jeter said. "We challenged them, obviously, after our last performance, just in the sense that we want to battle, we want to fight, and we want to show some pride and some effort. I thought tonight we did that against a team you know is going to battle you to the end. We had to match their fight, and for the most part we did."

The Panthers established their inside game from the get-go, as Kelm, Arians and Moore scored easy inside baskets as Milwaukee jumped to an 11-5 lead. The advantage hit 19-8 on an Arians hoops and extended all the way out to 25-9 when Arians buried a three-pointer with 8:30 remaining.

Wright State could never get the first-half deficit under 13, and a McWhorter three-point play made it 34-18 with 3:55 left. Milwaukee then led 38-23 at the break.

The lead ballooned early in the second half, with Arians making three free throws to push the edge to 47-27 just over three minutes in. The advantage was still 52-33 on a Matt Tiby three-pointer with 13:00 remaining before the Raiders started to chip away.

Wright State got the deficit to single digits on a pair of free throws with 6:37 remaining and pulled within 59-55 on two Tavares Sledge free throws with 4:20 left. Milwaukee restored an eight-point lead but could not put the Raiders away.

A three by Yoho pulled Wright State to within 64-61 with just over a minute remaining, and when Tiby missed two free throws on the other end the Raiders had a chance to get even closer. But Jerran Young missed an inside shot and Aaron countered with two free throws for a 66-61 advantage.

Yoho hit another three with 12 seconds left to make it 66-64, but Kelm iced the game two seconds later with a pair from the line.

"I'm just proud these guys have been able to respond," Jeter said. "We've been through a lot this season, and we seem to have found a way to rally and get back. This was one of those where we weren't feeling really good about ourselves. Tonjght the guys really played tough and I'm proud of them for that."

Milwaukee stays at the Klotsche Center to host Oakland Sunday. The Super Bowl Sunday game tips off at noon.