Green Bay Tops Virginia; Oakland, Milwaukee Notch Saturday Wins

Men's Basketball Scoreboard (Dec. 7)
Green Bay 75, #rv/rv Virginia 72
Milwaukee 73, Bradley 67
Oakland 73, Ohio 56
Saint Louis 67, Valparaiso 65
Loyola 73, UIC 70
Akron 73, Cleveland State 61
UMKC 88, Youngstown State 80
VMI 94, Wright State 74

On a day that witnessed several see-saws in emotions and results, Green Bay, Milwaukee and Oakland sent its respective fans home happy with wins.

Green Bay 75, #rv/rv Virginia 72
Greg Mays and Keifer Sykes (Chicago, Ill.) combined for 45 points, helping Green Bay shoot over 50 percent from the field against one of the nation’s top defensive teams and defeat visiting Virginia, 75-72, at the Resch Center.

Green Bay (5-2) knocked off a Virginia team receiving votes in both national top-25 polls.

The win put an exclamation point on an exciting weekend for the program, which welcomed back Phoenix Fall of Famer and all-time leading scorer Tony Bennett. Virginia’s head coach, who played for Green Bay from 1988-92 and scored 2,285 points in a Phoenix uniform, was honored with a video tribute prior to the game.

Playing in front of the former Phoenix point guard, Sykes was honored before the game for joining the 1,000-point club. The 5-foot-11 guard then played 38 minutes, scored 21 points and dished out 10 assists, and accomplished something that no player in the program’s Division I history – including Bennett – to score 20 or more points in six-straight games.

The first assist for Sykes led to the first points of the game, when Mays dunked home an alley-oop pass from Sykes for a 2-0 lead. The 6-foot-9 Mays continued his strong play from there, finishing with a career-high 24 points and grabbing five rebounds.

Mays had 12 points in the first half as head coach Brian Wardle’s team recovered from an early 9-4 deficit and led 37-31 at halftime. The Phoenix shot 56 percent (14-of-25) in the first 20 minutes and forced Virginia into 11 turnovers.

The Cavaliers scored the first four points of the second half, but Mays hit his first three-pointer of the season to start an 11-0 run which was capped by back-to-back three-pointers from Carrington Love. After Love’s third triple of the night ended the run, Green Bay was in front 48-35 with 16:23 remaining.

Green Bay was still in front by 11, 60-49, with 8:56 remaining, but Virginia used a 13-3 run of its own to close the deficit to just 63-63 at the 4:01 mark.

Mays threw down his third dunk of the game put Green Bay ahead, 69-66, with just over two minutes to play, but Malcolm Brogdon answered with a three to tie the game at 69-69.

On the ensuing possession, Sykes found Mays in the lane for a Green Bay lead, and Jordan Fouse grabbed his program-record eighth steal of the night and scored a layup for a four-point lead, 73-69, with 1:16 to play.

Virginia drained another three-pointer to cut the margin to 73-72 and got a defensive stop, but Joe Harris missed a three-pointer with 10 seconds on the clock. Sykes was fouled with 8.7 seconds left, and the junior made both for a three-point lead.

The Cavaliers called a timeout with 4.5 seconds remaining, but Justin Anderson’s three at the buzzer bounced off the rim and the Phoenix had posted a signature victory.

Virginia entered the game allowing the second-fewest points per game in the nation and ranked eighth nationally in field goal percentage defense (36.2 percent). Green Bay shot 51 percent from the field (26-for-51), 50 percent from long range (7-for-14) and scored more points than any Cavalier opponent this season.

The Phoenix had 18 assists and only eight turnovers, and Virginia finished with 11 assists and 14 turnovers. Led by Fouse’s 8, Green Bay finished with 12 steals.

Milwaukee 73, Bradley 67
Kyle Kelm and Austin Arians scored 17 points apiece and Jordan Aaron knocked in a pair of key three-pointers in the final four minutes as Milwaukee claimed a 73-67 win over Bradley at the Klotsche Center.

Aaron's three-pointer with four minutes remaining put Milwaukee (9-2) ahead for good and then another three from out top with 40 seconds remaining pushed the Panthers' lead to six and helped UWM hang on.

The Panthers have now won five-straight games and equaled their best start since the 2002-03 campaign. UWM also surpassed its win total from a season ago.

Milwaukee had to dig deep to win this game. The Panthers allowed 18 offensive rebounds and Bradley shot nearly 55 percent in the first half. But UWM wound up holding the Braves to a 20.7 percent clip in the second 20 minutes while Milwaukee answered by making 56 percent of its shots.

Matt TIby added 15 points and six rebounds before fouling out while Aaron added 13 points off the bench. UWM got five big points in a row from Malcolm Moore, who played a key role while Tiby was in foul trouble.

Tyshon Pickett and Walt Lemon, Jr., scored 20 points apiece to pace Bradley (5-4).

The Panthers claimed a pair of wins over Missouri Valley Conference foes this week, having beaten Northern Iowa Tuesday.

Milwaukee held the lead during much of the first 20 minutes before trailing by three at the break. In fact, the Panthers hit four 3-pointers in the early going to grab a quick 12-6 lead before Bradley fought back to tie the game at 16-apiece. The Braves then grabbed a quick 22-21 advantage before Milwaukee answered with six-straight points, with a three-pointer from Kelm pushing UWM ahead 27-22.

The lead was still 31-26 after two free throws from Kelm and the teams traded baskets on their next possession before Bradley made a run. The Braves took a 37-35 lead on a Lemon basket with 43 seconds remaining and then carried a 39-36 lead into the locker room.

The Panthers then fell behind five points early in the second half before rallying for the win. Milwaukee grabbed the lead back when Tiby found Arians for an open three, making it 51-49 with 12:05 remaining. The Panthers eventually went up 58-54 following five-straight points from Moore, only to see Bradley tie the game at 58 and again at 60.

But, Aaron scored five in a row to push Milwaukee into a 65-60 lead and then delivered a dagger three from about 23-feet out with 40 seconds remaining. The Panthers then hit three free throws in the closing seconds to secure the win.

Oakland 73, Ohio 56
Duke Mondy and Kahlil Felder scored 13 apiece to lead six Oakland players in double figures in a 73-56 victory over Ohio at the O'rena.

Oakland (2-7)  trailed 35-29 early in the second half before going on a 26-5 run capped by Travis Bader's second 3-pointer with 7:47 left in the game.

Until that run, the Grizzlies had been 1-of-15 from 3-point range and Bader had been 0-for-8. Bader's first 3-pointer gave the Grizzlies their first lead of the game at 37-35 with 13:42 left, and Oakland never trailed from there.

Bader extended his streak of games with at least one 3-pointer to 62, the longest current streak in the country.

Nick Kellogg led Ohio (6-2) with 18 points but fouled out with 2:26 left. The Bobcats had closed the gap to 53-64, but allowed Oakland to go on a 10-2 run after Kellogg's departure.

Saint Louis 67, Valparaiso 65
Trailing nearly the entire game, Valparaiso fought back to the game with Saint Louis on a LaVonte Dority layup with 3.8 seconds to play, but the Billikens got a put-back basket from Mike McCall Jr. just before the buzzer to come out with the 67-65 victory.

A 3-pointer by freshman Alec Peters with 17 seconds remaining brought the Crusaders to within one point at 64-63, and on the inbounds, Valpo fouled Dwayne Evans. Evans hit the first free throw, but missed the second, and Peters grabbed the rebound and got it to Dority. Dority brought the ball into the frontcourt and drove down the left side of the lane, finishing in traffic with 3.8 seconds to go to tie the game at 65-all, the first tie since the opening minute.

Following a timeout, the Billikens inbounded the ball past the halfcourt stripe, where Rob Loe caught it and drove to the basket. His layup attempt was blocked off the backboard, but the ricochet went directly to a cutting McCall in the middle of the lane. McCall’s put-back was called good on the court and confirmed following video review to give the victory to Saint Louis.

Valparaiso (6-5) fought back to tie the game after trailing by nine points, 62-53, with 5:45 to play. Valpo would hold SLU scoreless for over a five-minute stretch to crawl back into the game, getting back-to-back baskets from Dority to make it 62-57 with 4:21 to go. A minute later, the Crusaders split a pair of free throws to make it a four-point game.

The clock ticked under one minute with the score still 62-58, and it remained that way as SLU’s Jordair Jett missed the front end of a pair of one-and-ones.  Jordan Coleman connected on a pair of free throws following the second miss, bringing Valpo within two points with 29 seconds to play, but Evans answered with a pair of his own to set up the closing sequence.

A slow start for the Crusaders meant they would play from behind the entire game, as Saint Louis jumped out to a 15-3 lead just five minutes into the contest.  Valpo had seven turnovers in the opening stretch and hit just one basket. But the Crusaders quickly rallied, scoring 10 straight points over the next five minutes, five of which came from Jubril Adekoya, to close within two points at 15-13 halfway through the opening period.

Saint Louis maintained its lead, pushing it out to as many as 10 points over the final 10 minutes of the half and eventually taking a 39-30 lead into halftime. A 3-pointer from Austin McBroom with 13:26 to go matched SLU’s largest lead at 52-40, but an 11-3 Crusader run over the next five-plus minutes brought Valpo to within 55-51.

Dority led the Crusaders on Saturday with 21 points, 15 of which came in the second half.  Bobby Capobianco joined Dority in double figures with 14 points and added eight rebounds as well. Moussa Gueye pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds and also blocked four shots as the Crusaders out-rebounded Saint Louis, 53-31. Valpo shot just 37.9 percent from the floor and was just 4-of-14 behind the 3-point line.

Saint Louis (8-2) got 21 points from Evans, while Grandy Glaze scored 14 and Jett added 10 points. Evans also tallied 10 rebounds in posting a double-double, while Jett was one assist shy of a double-double of his own with nine helpers.

Loyola 73, UIC 70
UIC let a two-point halftime lead slip through their fingers as the Flames fell to city rival Loyola by a final score of 73-70 at Gentile Arena.

Marc Brown paced UIC (3-6) with 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting, while senior Hayden Humes dropped in a season-high 14 points and seven rebounds, hitting 6-of-8 from the floor.

UIC led for a good portion of the first half and by the 11:22 mark held an eight-point edge over the Ramblers. Loyola regained the lead for a five-minute span, until the Flames closed out the first period on a 7-2 run to go in front 39-37. UIC and Loyola were red-hot in the opening half as they each shot over 60 percent from the field.

The Ramblers came out firing in the second half, executing a 12-2 run and owned a 49-41 lead by the 15:01 mark. The Flames cut into Loyola's edge over the next three minutes and narrowed the margin to 52-51 after a Pat Birt triple from the corner.

Loyola controlled the lead during the back half of the second period, but the Flames found hope after senior Kelsey Barlow converted a three-point play with 11 seconds remaining to come within two of the lead. After Loyola's Christian Thomas missed the back end of two fouls shots, Barlow attempted a last-second three that bounced off the rim as time expired.

Despite suffering from flu-like symptoms, Barlow still managed 10 points, five assists, three steals and three rebounds. Barlow has scored in double figures in eight of his nine games so far this season. Jake Wiegand also tallied 10 points and added six rebounds in 26 minutes of action. Pat Birt continued to give the Flames an offensive spark with eight points and two 3-pointers.

The Flames received 11 minutes from junior guard Jay Parker as he missed the previous six games due to a leg injury.

Akron 73, Cleveland State 61
Cleveland State lost for the first time at home this season as Akron returned from a near three-week layoff and defeated the Vikings, 73-61, at the Wolstein Center.

Cleveland State (4-5) lost consecutive games for the first time this season. Akron, which had not played a game since Nov. 16, improved to 2-2.

Charlie Lee, who missed the last three games with a knee injury, paced the Vikings with 14 points, while Jon Harris was the only other CSU player in double figures with 12 points. Harris added eight rebounds.

Anton Grady scored nine points, while Marlin Mason finished with nine points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots.

The Zips used a stellar effort from 3-point range, hitting 11-of-22, including 9-of-10 from beyond the arc at one point.

Nick Harney led three Zips in double figures with 15 points, while Demetrius Treadwell had seven points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

A Mason dunk two and a half minutes in gave CSU a quick 5-2 lead, but Akron responded with a 14-4 run to open up a seven point lead, 16-9, midway through the first half.

A Forbes free throw and Mason layup down the lane followed to bring the Vikings back within four, but an Akron bucket, back-to-back 3-pointers and a Nick Harney dunk helped the Zips open up a double-digit lead, 26-16, with 4:13 left.

The lead reached 11 points, 29-18, but a Mason alley-oop dunk from Lee and a Lee three-pointer brought CSU within 29-23 with under a minute to go in the half.

However, Nyles Evans drained a three-pointer from the top of the key just before the halftime horn sounded, giving the Zips a 32-23 lead at the intermission.

Deji Ibitayo and Reggie McAdams opened the second half with three-pointers as Akron saw its lead grow to 15 points, 38-23, forcing a quick CSU timeout. The quick three's helped the Zips maintain a double-digit lead for a majority of the second half. The lead grew to as many as 19 points with 10:41 to play.

CSU was able to pull within 58-46 on a Lee basket with just over four minutes to play, but as they did much of the afternoon, Akron answered on the other end with a Reggie McAdams 3-pointer and Treadwell followed with a free throw to push the lead back to 62-46.

The Vikings answered with six straight to get back within 10 points and tried to extend the game by fouling, but the Zips hit 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

UMKC 88, Youngstown State 80
Kendrick Perry scored a season-high 33 points and the Penguins shot 53.6 percent from the field, but dropped an 88-80 decision to UMKC  at the Swinney Recreation Center.

Marcus Keene scored 13 points off the bench and DJ Cole added 10 points with three assists and three steals for Youngstown State (7-4). Perry turned in his third 30-point effort of the season and his second in the last three games.

Perry also collected three steals to become the first Youngstown State player to record 200 steals in a career and has 202.

All five starters for the Kangaroos, who improve to 2-6, scored in double figures and three player had career highs. Nelson Kirksley's career-high 24 points led Kansas City while Martez Harrison's 18 and Frank Williams' 18 were both career highs. Trinity Hall and Fred Chatmon scored 15 and 10 points respectively.

Kansas City shot 55.6 percent from the field and owned a 36-24 advantage in rebounding.

The Penguins trailed by 10, 44-34, early in the second half, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Perry brought YSU within four, 44-40, at the 18:34 mark.

After the Roos rebuilt their lead back to eight, 49-41, the Penguins went on a 12-4 run to get back within two, 55-53, on a layup by Cole at the 12:49 mark.

Kansas City answered back with a 14-2 run over the next four minutes to extend its lead to a game-high 14, 69-55, at the 8:32 mark.

YSU continued to claw itself back into the game and, twice came back within five, 76-71, after a 3-pointer by Kamren Belin, and 78-73 after a layup by Perry with 2:51 to go.

Kirksley, though, followed with a 3-pointer and Hall's put-back dunk pushed the Roos back to a double-figure lead, 83-73, at the 1:39 mark.

The Penguins fell behind by seven, 19-12, midway through the first half before an 11-0 spurt gave the Guins a 23-19 lead.

Keene and Perry accounted for all 11 points during the Guins' run. Keene started the surge with a layup and Perry followed with a 3-pointer.  After another layup by Keene, Perry scored the next four on an alley-oop from Keene and followed with a steal and coast-to-coast layup at the 6:58 mark.

The Roos answered scoring six straight to regain the lead 25-23 at the 6:18 mark and built a four-point advantage, 33-29, with just 2:30 to go.

Baskets by Fletcher Larson and Keene got the Penguins back within two, 35-33, but the Roos closed out the half scoring seven of the last eight points for a 42-34 halftime lead.

The Penguins shot 55.6 percent from the floor, but Kansas City was more impressive connecting on 61.5 percent of its field-goal attempts. The Roos also outrebounded the Penguins, 15-11, in the first half.

VMI 94, Wright State 74
Wright State could not overcome a 17-for-31 3-point performance by VMI as the Keydets went on to a 94-74 win at Cameron Hall.

Wright State (5-6) dropped its sixth game of the year away from the Nutter Center and second straight on a swing through the mid-Atlantic.

QJ Peterson scored a game-high 21 points and four teammates scored double digits for VMI.

Brian Brown, Jordan Weethee and Rodney Glasgow each scored 15 for VMI, with Brown notching a game-high five 3-pointers. D.J. Covington scored 14 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.

Matt Vest led Wright State with 14 points, Dixon Miles scored 13 and AJ Pacher added 12.

Wright State stayed close early in the first half and the lead changed hands nine times until VMI pulled ahead 24-21 at 10:04 on a 3-pointer by Trey Chapman, then pulled away to lead 47-36 at halftime. The Keydets finished shooting 54.8 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.

VMI continued to dominate in the second half, leading by as many at 23 points and out-rebounding the Raiders 41-33.