Jan. 24, 2013

The Last Meeting

Milwaukee	81
Green Bay	75

February 4, 2012
Green Bay, Wis.

Gulley Sparks Panthers To Season Sweep Of Green Bay Paris Gulley scored 20 points and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee made 12 three-pointers in claiming an 81-75 win over Green Bay Saturday at the Resch Center. Milwaukee (15-10, 8-5 Horizon) broke a 53-all tie with a 10-2 burst midway through the second half and then hung on by making 15-of-18 free throws in the game.

Recap | Box Score

• The Panthers dropped a 60-50 decision at UIC Wednesday night. After playing a stellar first half and leading 42-25, the Panthers were outscored 35-8 in the second half. UWM did not score over the final 9:32 of the game, missing its final 11 shots. And, the eight points in the second half set a new school record.

- Milwaukee attempted a season-high 35 three-pointers in Wednesday's loss, with 35 of its 56 shots coming from distance. Its final 11 shot attempts in the game were three-pointers.

• Paris Gulley has been in double figures in points in 12 of the first 14 games he has played in this season, including four 20-point performances. He missed the first six games of the year with a broken hand.

• Two freshmen have emerged as regular parts of the rotation for Milwaukee. J.J. Panoske has started the last three games and scored a collegiate-best 15 points in Saturday's loss to Youngstown State. Austin Arians came off the bench to average 17 points and 7.5 rebounds per contest in the two outings over this past weekend and added six points Wednesday.

• UWM is playing all of its home games this season at the on-campus Klotsche Center, a building in which the Panthers have won 23 of their last 28 non-exhibition games.

• Green Bay is 10-10 overall and 4-3 in the Horizon League. The Phoenix had won four-straight at home before falling 73-61 at Valparaiso Wednesday night.

• Game #21
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's basketball team comes back home for a nationally-televised Friday night contest with Green Bay.

• A Quick Scout
Green Bay is 10-10 overall and 4-3 in the Horizon League ... the Phoenix had won four-straight at home before losing 73-61 at Valparaiso Wednesday night ... Keifer Sykes, Alec Brown and Brennan Cougill all average in double figures ... Sykes and Brown have been starting with Cougill coming off the bench ... Green Bay does own a non-league win over Marquette ... the Phoenix is 0-8 in true road games this season, including an 0-3 mark in league games.

• Matchup Notes
Green Bay holds a 26-21 lead in the all-time series with UWM ... the Panthers have sliced into that advantage in recent seasons, winning 17 of the last 26 meetings between the two schools ... UWM has won 12 of the last 14 meetings between the teams in Milwaukee ... six of those wins have come by 20 or more points ... the Panthers swept the season series a year ago ... Green Bay hasn't played in the Klotsche Center since 2003 ... Rob Jeter is 8-6 against the Phoenix in his head coaching career ... Jeter was on the Marquette coaching staff when Green Bay head coach Brian Wardle was a player.

• Coming Home
UWM is playing all of its home games at the on-campus Klotsche Center this season, a spot the Panthers have traditionally had a distinct homecourt advantage. Milwaukee has won 23 of its last 28 non-exhibition games in the building. Going further back, UWM is 50-14 in its last 64 non-exhibition contests in the building. The Panthers have not called the building their permanent home since the 2002-03 season and Rob Jeter has been the head coach for just 11 regular season games in the building. Prior to this season, the last time UWM played a regular-season Horizon League game in the building was the end of the 2003-04 season, a year Milwaukee played three regular season games on campus. The Panthers have won 14 of their last 16 games over Horizon League foes at the Klotsche Center, including last year's league tournament victory over UIC.

• A Leader On The Horizon
The Horizon League takes on a slightly new look in 2012-13 with the departure of Butler to the Atlantic 10. That move caused a late adjustment in the league schedule, which now did not begin until early January. UWM also now takes over the mantle of winningest Horizon League program over the last 12 years. The Panthers are the only school to average more than 10 league wins per season in that time and Milwaukee has been below .500 in league play just once in 12 years. UWM's 130-70 mark in 12 seasons entering this year bests Wright State (113-87) by 17 games and those are the only two schools to win at least 100 league games in that time.

• Numbers, Tips And Trends
- Paris Gulley averaged 19 points per game and made eight 3-pointers in two games against Green Bay a season ago.

- James Haarsma averaged 12.5 points per game in two wins over the Phoenix a year ago.

- Milwaukee used its fifth different starting lineup of the season in last Thursday's win over Cleveland State. The Panthers have had 11 players make at least one start, with seven of those players making their first start at UWM.

- Milwaukee has been in double figures in offensive rebounds in 13 of the first 20 games of the season but opponents have hit double-digits 14 times.

- UWM has used just seven players in each of its last two games and also used seven players in its league opener at Detroit. Interestingly, two of the seven players are different, as Thierno Niang and Kyle Kelm played against Detroit while Austin Arians and Ryan Haggerty played the last two.

- Those three games are in contrast to how much of the rest of the season's rotation has played out for Milwaukee, which has seen 12 players appear in at least 12 of the 20 games. A year ago, Milwaukee played at least eight guys in every game.

- Freshman J.J. Panoske is making the most of his opportunities. He moved into the starting lineup this past weekend and had 15 points and five rebounds in Saturday's loss. He is averaging 7.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in the last nine contests.

- Demetrius Harris has started 18 of 20 games and has tallied a pair of double-doubles before just missing one Saturday against Youngstown State. The senior has 169 points and 103 rebounds this season, easily surpassing the 39 points and 33 boards he collected all of last year.

- James Haarsma continues to try to shake a season-long shooting slump. He is shooting just 33.3 percent from the field and has made just three 3-pointers. A year ago, Haarsma shot 52.5 percent overall and made 31 three-pointers.

- UWM has collected 45 assists in its last three games, including a season-best 19 in the win over Cleveland State. The Panthers had tallied a total of 18 assists in their first three league games.

- Injuries continue to impact Milwaukee. Kyle Kelm missed the game with Ohio Dominican because of a concussion and was limited early in the season by a foot injury. Paris Gulley missed the first six games with a broken hand. And, Thierno Niang is sidelined indefinitely with a back injury that has plagued him since late November.

- Senior Ryan Haggerty made his 100th appearance Wednesday at UIC. To put his experience in perspective relative to the inexperience of the rest of the roster, UWM's four leading scorers last Saturday in the loss to Youngstown State (Paris Gulley, Jordan Aaron, Austin Arians, J.J. Panoske) had a combined 98 collegiate appearances entering Haggerty's 100th game.

• The Last Time Out
UIC outscored UWM 35-8 in the second half and scored the final 19 points of the game to claim a 60-50 win Wednesday night at the UIC Pavilion. The Panthers led 42-25 at halftime and 44-25 a minute into the second half. Then, in spite of its offensive struggles, Milwaukee was still ahead 50-41 with 9:32 remaining and UIC didn't take the lead until Gary Talton hit a three with 1:32 left. But UWM could never answer on offense, missing its final 11 shots, all of which were three-point tries. Paris Gulley scored 14 points for Milwaukee while Jordan Aaron added 13.

• What Went Right
The first half Wednesday at UIC was some of the best basketball the Panthers have played all season. Its 17-point lead at the break was its largest of the year, and UWM made eight 3-pointers and shot a solid 48.4 percent from the field. Jordan Aaron and Paris Gulley combined for 23 points and the Panthers held the Flames to just 32.3 percent shooting from the field.

• And What Went Wrong
The second half Wednesday was ugly in every sense of the word. The eight points the Panthers scored set a new school record for offensive futility in a half, and Milwaukee made just 3-of-25 from the field. UWM went the final 9:31 of the game without a point and its last 11 shots - all misses - came from three-point range. In all, UWM was 0-of-17 from three-point range in the second half.

• Young Guns
A pair of freshmen are beginning to emerge as two of the Panthers' leaders. Austin Arians and J.J. Panoske shared the team-lead in scoring Saturday, with Arians leading the team in scoring for a second-straight game. That marked the first time a freshman has led Milwaukee in scoring in two-straight games since Adrian Tigert did it at the end of the 2001-02 campaign. Ronnie Jones and Clay Tucker each did it during the 1999-2000 season, and that year actually opened with a freshman leading the way in four-straight games. Arians added six points and Panoske two points, four rebounds and three blocks Wednesday, playing a combined 53 minutes.

• Bench Brigade
The Panthers continue to get some very strong efforts from their bench. Austin Arians had hit double figures two games in a row in reserve and, in last Thursday's win over Cleveland State, Ryan Haggerty also hit double digits - the third time this season two players have reached double figures off the bench in the same game. UWM has now had 11 double-figure efforts from its bench this season. The full list, in date order:

Kyle Kelm - 15 vs. Mary
Kyle Kelm - 11 vs. Davidson
Austin Arians - 13 vs. UALR
Evan Richard - 11 vs. Rider
Austin Arians - 10 vs. Rider
J.J. Panoske - 13 vs. Wisconsin
Jordan Aaron - 34 vs. Ohio Dominican
Demetrius Harris - 14 vs. Ohio Dominican
Austin Arians - 19 vs. Cleveland State
Ryan Haggerty - 12 vs. Cleveland State
Austin Arians - 15 vs. Youngstown State

• Great To Have Him Back
Paris Gulley missed the first six games of the season with a broken hand but has been putting plenty of points on the board since returning Dec. 1. He scored 24 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the field in his return against Northern Iowa and has added three additional 20-plus-point performance while reaching double figures in 12 of his 14 outings. He is averaging 15.6 points per game overall and 16.2 points per contest in league play.

• Making His Point
Jordan Aaron continues to be a presence in the backcourt and has now really started to show off his distribution skills. The junior dished out 11 assists vs. Cleveland State - tying the collegiate-high he set against Northern Illinois. He had eight more assists against Youngstown State and then scored 14 points in Wednesday's loss at UIC. He has struggled shooting the ball in league play, making just 29.3 percent of his shots. But he has a pretty strong track record of scoring this season. His best offensive effort came Dec. 29 in the win over Ohio Dominican, as he poured in 34 points. He also had a 28-point effort at South Carolina, a run of 13 points in a row in a win over Davidson and 23 more points against Buffalo Dec. 5.

• Media Watch
Time Warner Cable's Sports32 is again the official television home for Panther basketball, while the radio broadcasts return to WISN (AM 1130) as UWM and Clear Channel Radio have inked a new agreement for both men's and women's coverage. Sports32 will carry at least nine games this season, as Daron Sutton and Adrian Tigert return as the voices of Panther basketball on TV. Bill Johnson returns for his 14th season as the radio play-by-play man. The weekly "Panther Sports Report" radio show will also return in January, while "The Rob Jeter Show" is also back on Sports32.

• Waiting In The Wings
UWM now has a total of five players that will be added to the active roster when the 2013-14 season arrives. Steve McWhorter transferred to UWM from Indiana State this summer and is practicing with the team while sitting out of games due to NCAA transfer regulations. Matt Tiby, a transfer from Kirkwood Community College, joined the Panther roster at the start of the second semester and will be practicing with the team while maintaining three seasons of college eligibility. Three other players signed National Letters of Intent during the fall signing period, as Trinson White of Milwaukee, Cody Wichmann of Pulaski and Brett Prahl of East Troy all officially agreed to join the Panthers.