March 4, 2014

Box Score

  

MILWAUKEE - Jordan Aaron scored 16 points to lead five players in double figures as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee claimed an 83-73 win over Detroit Tuesday night in the first round of the Horizon League Tournament at the U.S. Cellular Arena.

The fifth-seeded Panthers (18-13) advance to a second round game against fourth-seeded Valparaiso Friday at 8:30 p.m. in Green Bay.

Milwaukee led by as many as 21 points in the game before hanging on down the stretch. The Panthers shot 51 percent from the floor in snapping a five-game losing streak at The Cell.

"It's just good to get back home, play well and make some shots," Milwaukee head coach Rob Jeter said. "For our guys to play well, to shoot the ball well, and then defensively to make some key stops down the stretch, it's exciting. We've done a 180 from last season as far as how we've prepared ourselves and how we've represented ourselves. I'm just proud of this group because we've been tested, but they've just figured out a way to respond and bounce back. Clearly we bounced back after our performances here at home."

UWM had a 42-21 lead late in the first half and rebuilt it to 53-32 early in the second half. Milwaukee still led by 19 points with 7:30 remaining before Juwan Howard, Jr., who scored 21 points, helped Detroit get within five late in the game.

Steve McWhorter added 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Panthers while Kyle Kelm had 13 points. Plus, Milwaukee's bench played a major role in the victory. Cody Wichmann scored 12 points while JeVon Lyle added 11 points. Malcolm Moore also provided an early spark with seven points and seven rebounds.

"It's good to see guys add off the bench and see guys come in and play with confidence," Jeter said. "Obviously Austin wasn't shooting the ball as well as we would like in stretches, but Cody was able to pick up the slack. And J.R, he just provides a different level of energy for us. When he makes mistakes it's because he's just going so fast. J.R. has been really big for us through this difficult stretch and that's exciting because he's a younger player for us."

The Panthers led 8-7 in the early going before pushing out to a 19-14 lead on an Aaron three. After the Titans pulled to within 24-21, Milwaukee answered with 18 points in a row to build a huge lead. The burst included four free throws from Wichmann and was capped off by back-to-back threes from J.J. Panoske and McWhorter.

Milwaukee led 42-28 at the half but pushed the lead back to 53-32 on a McWhorter three. The advantage was still 72-53 after a Wichmann three with 7:40 remaining before the Titans forged a comeback. A basket by Anton Wilson got the deficit under double digits and then a jumper by Howard made it 74-69 with 3:49 remaining.

The Panthers answered on offense every time they needed to, though. Kelm scored four in a row before Aaron added three free throws to push the lead back to 81-73. A pair of Tiby free throws then provided the final margin.