League Teams Post Solid Wins on Saturday

Men’s Basketball Scoreboard (Nov. 17)
UIC 62, Mercer 36
Cleveland State 67, Old Dominion 55
Detroit 85, Drake 79
Milwaukee 73, Davidson 68
Nevada 71, Green Bay 69
South Florida 68, Loyola 50

Horizon League teams had another winning day, going a collective 4-2. UIC, Cleveland State, Detroit and Milwaukee all posted quality wins, while Green Bay suffered a last-second defeat at Nevada and Loyola dropped a game to South Florida.

UIC 62, Mercer 36
With balanced scoring and stifling defense, UIC routed Mercer, 62-36, in the second round of the US Virgin Islands Paradise Jam. The Bears' 36 points marks the lowest scoring output for a UIC opponent since the Flames joined the Division I ranks prior to the 1981-82 season.

UIC (2-1) will meet Iona in Monday's fourth-place game.

Hayden Humes and Gary Talton each scored a game-high 14 points, with Daniel Barnes chipping in nine points and a career-best seven rebounds. Marc Brown scored a season-high eight points, while Will Simonton enjoyed the best all-around game of his career, scoring six points to go along with four rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench.

UIC trailed just once in the game, jumping on the Bears from the opening tip. Between the 11:54 and 6:52 marks of the first half, the Flames took command of the game with an 8-3 spurt, spearheaded by a pair of field goals from Talton, and a transition scoop and score by Joey Miller. At the under-8 media timeout, UIC led by eight, 18-10.

After Mercer pulled within 23-16, UIC finished the opening frame on a 7-3 run, taking a 30-19 lead into the locker room at halftime. Humes, Miller and Talton all provided field goals in the 2:55 stretch. The Flames switched defensive looks several times in the half, forcing the Bears into 10 turnovers and just a 36.8 percent effort from the floor.

Humes scored five quick points in the early stages of the second half, helping the Flames build a 37-25 lead at the first media timeout. Barnes chipped in another five points in the ensuing 2:29, extending UIC's advantage to 15 points, 42-25, at the under-12 media break (11:53).

The Flames kept the pressure on out of the break, with Talton, Barnes and Humes combining for eight-straight points, forcing Mercer into a timeout trailing by 25 points, 50-25. UIC cleared its bench down the stretch, building its largest lead of 31 points (62-31) with 1:55 remaining.

UIC forced Mercer into 17 total turnovers, and just a 32.6 percent effort from the field. The Flames also posted a 30-27 advantage on the boards, and swiped nine steals. Offensively, it was the Flames' most efficient effort of the season - UIC shot 46.8 percent from the field, including a 50 percent output in the second half, and a 53.3 percent effort from three-point range.

Cleveland State 67, Old Dominion 55
Trailing by seven points early in the second half, Cleveland State found its footing to post a 67-55 win over visiting Old Dominion at the Wolstein Center.

Cleveland State (3-1) put all five starters into double figures, the third time this season the Vikings have achieved such balance.

Marlin Mason led the way with a career-high 17 points, while Anton Gradt and Charlie Lee scored 13 points apiece. Sebastian Douglas added 11 points and Tim Kamczyc 10.

Cleveland State struggled from the field in the first half, but after Old Dominion scored four straight points to take a 34-27 lead a minute into the second half, the Vikings took command.

Grady hit a jumper at the 18:42 mark to start a 15-1 run that put the Vikings ahead, 42-35 on two free throws by Kamczyc with 14:14 left.

CSU pushed its lead to double figures, 51-41, midway through the half on a pair of Grady free throws as the lead swelled to as many as 13 points late in the contest.

After shooting just 36-percent in the first half, CSU rebounded to shoot 52-percent (14-27) in the final 20 minutes. The Vikings also held ODU to 6-of-24 shooting in the second half.

The teams traded baskets over the first eight minutes of the opening stanza with the Monarchs using two free throws by Nick Wright to take an 11-10 lead at the 12:10 mark. Those two free tosses started an 11-0 run that saw the ODU lead grow to 20-10 with 8:16 left in the half.

The Vikings clawed back, using a pair of Grady dunks to highlight a 13-6 run of their own, capped by a Bryn Forbes three-pointer, to get back within 26-23 with 2:22 left in the half.

The Monarchs held a 36-28 advantage on the boards and outscored CSU's bench, 24-3. CSU committed just nine turnovers, while forcing 17 by ODU which were turned into 19 points.

Detroit 85, Drake 79
Detroit withstood a late run from the Drake Bulldogs to grab its second win of the young season 85-79 Saturday night at Calihan Hall.

Three Titans scored in double figures including a career-high 26 points from Doug Anderson, who also grabbed 10 rebounds to post his first double-double of the season.

Ray McCallum netted 20 points, including an 18-foot jumper to put the Titans up by four with 13 seconds remaining. Nick Minnerath reached double figures in scoring for the first time this season with 16 points along with nine rebounds, while Jason Calliste pitched in nine points and Juwan Howard, Jr. added eight.

Detroit (2-1) held a 73-59 lead with just under five minutes remaining in regulation before the Bulldogs pieced together a 20-8 run to close the gap to 81-79 with 46 seconds left. McCallum then drained a jumper as time expired on the shot clock to put Detroit up 83-79 with 13 seconds remaining before Calliste added a layup as time expired for the six-point win.

Drake opened the game with an early 11-7 run, before the Titans bounced back with a 12-4 run to take a 19-15 lead with just over 12 minutes left in the half. Anderson scored the Titans first five points with a three-pointer and dunk before McCallum pitched in five points to give Detroit the lead. Both teams then swapped buckets for the next couple of minutes as Detroit held a slim 23-22 lead with 10 minutes left. The Titans were then able to close the half with a 19-13 run, including an enormous dunk from Anderson, to take a 42-35 lead into the locker room. Anderson led the Titans with 18 points and seven rebounds in the first half as he shot 6-for-8 from the floor, including a perfect 3-for-3 from downtown. 

Detroit scored the first two baskets of the second half to build a 46-35 lead, which forced an early timeout from Drake with 18:36 left. The Bulldogs then responded with a 20-9 run, capped off with a three pointer from nearly midcourt by Ben Simons, to tie the score 55-55 with 12 minutes left.

However, the Titans kept their calm and quickly regained the lead on a three-pointer from Minnerath on the next possession, sparking a a 13-0 run to give Detroit a 68-55 lead with 6:24 remaining.  The Titans then expanded their lead to 73-59 with 4:53 left in regulation, before Drake made a late run down the stretch.

Detroit won the battle on the boards, 37-34, and shot 45.9 percent from the field and 74.2 percent from the charity stripe. The Titans also forced 18 Bulldog turnovers, which resulted in 26 points for Detroit, while dishing out 15 assists and recording 10 steals in the game.

Milwaukee 73, Davidson 68
Hosting a Davidson team projected to be a NCAA Tournament sleeper, Milwaukee took a back-and-forth game, 73-68, at the Klotsche Center.

Jordan Aaron led Milwaukee (2-1) with 23 points, but it was Kyle Kelm’s three-pointer with 2:30 remaining that gave the Panthers the lead for good.

The Panthers trailed by seven early in the second half before rallying to knock off the Wildcats, who returned all five starters from last year's NCAA Tournament team.

Aaron scored 13 points in a row during a burst in the second half that took Milwaukee from a 41-34 deficit to a 56-53 lead. Davidson eventually reclaimed a 63-62 advantage with under three minutes left but Kelm answered with a step-back three on the next possession to catapult UWM to the win.

Demetrius Harris added 17 points, including the game-clinching free throws following a key defensive rebound, while Kelm pitched-in with 11. Thierno Niang added had eight points and 11 rebounds.

Milwaukee's defensive effort limited the Wildcats to just 35.6 percent shooting for the game. Davidson made just 4-of-14 from beyond the arc after entering the game having made 22 three-pointers on the year.

One week after losing a late lead at South Carolina, the Panthers were solid and steady in the closing minutes Saturday. Milwaukee hit all six of its free throws after taking the late lead. Kelm also added a hoop on a strong drive, finishing with his left hand before Harris closed the win out with a rebound in traffic and a pair of free throws.

Not much was decided in the first 20 minutes. Davidson led by as many as five points in the early going but Milwaukee rallied to tie the game at 22. The Wildcats were able to restore as much as a four-point advantage before the Panthers rallied to within 31-30 at the break.

Davidson extended its lead out to 41-34 with 15:39 remaining when J.P. Kuhlman buried an open three. But Aaron single-handedly responded for UWM, scoring his team's next 13 points as Milwaukee went ahead 56-53.

The teams traded baskets over the next four minutes before Davidson claimed the advantage one fine time. But after Kelm knocked in his three from the right wing, the Panthers combined solid free throw shooting with clutch defense and rebounding to hang on for the win.

Nevada 71, Green Bay 69
Alec Brown drained a three to put Green Bay ahead 69-68 with 11 seconds to play, but Nevada's Deonte Burton crushed the Phoenix with a 30-footer with 1.3 seconds to play to hand Green Bay its first loss of the season in heartbreaking fashion, 71-69, in the second game of the World Vision Classic for the Phoenix.

Green Bay (2-1) will finish the tournament on Sunday at 4 p.m. ET against Cal State Fullerton.

Neither team led by more than seven in a game that featured 10 ties and seven lead changes. Green Bay trailed, 67-63, with 41 seconds to play when Burton missed the front end of a one-and-one. After a Phoenix timeout, Keifer Sykes found Kam Cerroni in the corner and the sharpshooter was fouled after a heady head fake.

Cerroni calmly knocked down all three free throws to cut the lead to one, and after Nevada’s Kevin Panzer split a pair of free throws Green Bay had possession of the ball trailing by two.

Brown, who was just 2-for-12 prior to the shot, had his number called and the big man drained a three-pointer to give his team the lead.

Nevada got the ball to Burton, the reigning Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year. He was slowed down by Sykes and forced to the sideline, but Burton delivered with the desperation triple that fell through the net with just 1.3 seconds left.

It spoiled a great effort by a Phoenix team looking to start the season at 3-0. Getting 10 first-half points from Brennan Cougill, Green Bay led by as many as six in the first half, but the hosts went to the break leading 35-31. Green Bay had 14 turnovers at the break but committed just three after halftime.

A 6-2 spurt to open the second half tied it for the Phoenix, and neither team led by more than six points throughout the final 20 minutes. A Brown jumper put Green Bay ahead, 41-39, five minutes into the period, but the Wolf Pack scored the next five points and held the lead until Brown's triple.

Nevada threatened to pull away on numerous occasions, but Green Bay continually responded. Jordan Fouse had all eight of his points and four rebounds after halftime, and Sykes had four points and an assist for a Greg Mays dunk late in the second half to turn a six-point deficit into a two-point game.

Four Green Bay players reached double figures for the second-straight game. Cougill led the team with 16 points while Cerroni (14 points), Brown (12) and Sykes (11) all also reached double digits.

Green Bay outrebounded its third opponent in as many games with a team effort on the glass. Brown had a team-high seven boards while Fouse and Mays each grabbed six each and Cougill five rebounds.

South Florida 68, Loyola 50
Loyola allowed South Florida to shoot 50-percent from the floor, leading to a 68-50 loss in the Ramblers’ second game of the USF Invitational.

Ben Averkamp and Devon Turk each scored nine points for Loyola (2-2), but 15 turnovers cost the Ramblers.

In the first few minutes of the game, both teams looked like squads playing on consecutive nights as they combined to go 2 of 12 from the field in the opening 4:20. Loyola trailed 12-10 with nine minutes to go in the opening half, but a basket by Martino Brock kicked off a 26-11 run to close the half as the Bulls took a 38-21 lead into the locker room. USF capitalized on nine first-half Rambler turnovers and converted those into 10 points.

Loyola opened the second half with five quick points thanks to a three-pointer from Jordan Hicks and a bucket by Averkamp, but the Ramblers were unable to sustain that momentum as USF answered with five straight points of its own to extend its lead back to 17.

Nick Osborne’s dunk off an alley-oop pass from Turk brought the Ramblers within 58-45, but that was as close as they would get against a Bulls team that reached the third round of the NCAA Tournament a year ago.

Averkamp and Turk notched nine points apiece for Loyola, which also received eight points, four assists and three rebounds from Tanner Williams and seven points from Hicks.

Loyola closes out the USF Invitational tomorrow by facing Maryland-Eastern Shore at 12 p.m. ET on Sunday.