Green Bay, Milwaukee Put Icing on Successful Sunday for State of Wisconsin

While the state's most popular franchise was en route to capturing a NFC title, Green Bay and Milwaukee both provided their share of highlights on Sunday afternoon, battling back from halftime deficits to record key Horizon League road wins at Valparaiso and Butler, respectively.

The wins continued to keep the Horizon League standings tight halfway through the conference season.  The difference between League co-leaders Cleveland State and Valparaiso and seventh-place Milwaukee is just 2.5 games with nine left to play.

At the Athletics-Recreation Center, Green Bay's (11-10, 5-4 Horizon) bench provided the difference in a come from behind 63-61 triumph over Valparaiso (15-6, 7-2 Horizon), scoring a third of the team's total.  Down seven at the half, the Phoenix scored 45 second-half points, hitting 65 percent of its shots.

A Ryan Broekhoff triple gave the Crusaders a 10-point lead on the first possession of the second half, but a Steve Baker three brought the Phoenix within a point and a Daniel Turner jumper put Green Bay ahead for the first time in the game's final stanza with just over eight minutes to play.  The quick five-point burst was the beginning of an 11-0 run that left Green Bay up, 54-47, with 2:02 left on the clock.

The Crusaders never had a chance to tie or take the lead in the closing minutes, as Green Bay closed out the contest from the free-throw line.

Alec Brown led the way for Green Bay with 15 points, while Rahmon Fletcher chipped in 10 on an off-shooting day, as did Jarvis Williams.  Seth Evans paced the Phoenix bench with eight points, while Clayton Heuer added six.  Green Bay outscored Valpo, 21-5, off the bench.

Cory Johnson led all players with 17 points, while Broekhoff returned to post 15.  Matt Kenney, starting for the injured Brandon Wood, added 13.

In a game featuring over 20 ties and XX lead changes, Milwaukee outlasted Butler, 86-80, in overtime at Hinkle Fieldhouse.  The win gave the Panthers a season sweep of the Bulldogs, the first time Butler has been swept by a League opponent since 2004-05, when Milwaukee pulled the feat.

Anthony Hill and Matt Howard staged a fierce battle in the post, with Hill leading the Panthers back from a five-point halftime deficit with 18 points, 12 of them coming in the second half.  Howard collected his second straight double-double, recording 18 points and 12 boards in his 22nd birthday.

Both players were fouled out by the game the game reached overtime, where Butler opened an early three-point lead behind two Shelvin Mack free throws and a Khyle Marshall layup.  However, Milwaukee came right back, with Tone Boyle scoring five of the next seven points, the last three coming on a fadeaway three-pointer as the shot clock expired, giving the Panthers an 80-76 lead with 99 seconds to play.

Marshall's layup cut the deficit in half, but Butler would not hit another shot the remainder of the game and Milwaukee went 6-of-8 from the charity stripe to seal the contest.

Mack led all players with 23 points, while Howard added 18 and Marshall posted his first career double-double with 10 points and 14 boards.  Shawn Vanzant added 10 for the Bulldogs.

Hill's 18 carried Milwaukee, while Kaylon Williams tallied 16 points and 12 rebounds, falling four assists shy of a triple-double.  Boyle chipped in 15, and Ryan Allen recorded 10 off the bench.