First Half Run Leads to Green Bay Win

#HLMBB Scoreboard (Feb. 5)
Green Bay 81, Milwaukee 70

Host Green Bay (19-5, 8-2 Horizon) shot 55.2 percent from the field and had to hold off a spirited second-half rally to earn a 81-70 victory over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (9-15, 4-6 Horizon) tonight at the Resch Center.

Green Bay got out of the blocks fast and took a 17-4 lead in the opening seven minutes as Carrington Love scored seven points for the Phoenix during that spurt.  With Keifer Sykes getting off to a slow start by hitting just 2 of his first 7 field-goal tries, Love picked up the slack, hitting his first four attempts from the field.

The Phoenix led by as many as 25 points (37-12) in the first half and wound up hitting 52.9 percent (18-for-34) of their shots in the opening period, while Milwaukee connected on only 25 percent (7-for-28).

Quick threes from Cody Wichmann and Tiby brought the Panthers within 45-27 early in the second half but Green Bay responded with a 15-2 run of its own to seize momentum and grabbed a 60-29 lead.

But, with the outlook appearing bleak, Milwaukee went on a furious 30-10 run and a lay-up by Akeem Springs cut it to 70-59 with 3:00 remaining.  After an Alfonzo McKinnie free throw made it 71-59, Tiby's layup got the Panthers within 10 at 71-61, but that was as close as they would get the remainder if the way.

McKinnie recorded his second double-double of the season with a career-high 23 points and 10 rebounds. The senior forward shot 9-of-13 from the field. Love added 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting and had a team-high five assists. Sykes rounded out the Green Bay players in double figures with 12 points as he passed Jeff Nordgaard and Dennis Woeffler to move into second on Green Bay's career scoring list.In addition to Tiby's effort, Milwaukee also received 16 points from Springs and 11 each from Wichmann and J.R. Lyle.