Milwaukee Clinches #HLMBB Tournament Home Game; Green Bay Claims Outright Title

#HLMBB Scoreboard (Feb. 27)
Milwaukee 68, Detroit 62
#rv/rv Green Bay 71, Oakland 63

Milwaukee clinched a first round home game in the Horizon League men's basketball tournament, while Green Bay rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit to claim the outright regular-season championship on Thursday.

Milwaukee 68, Detroit 62
JeVon Lyle scored a collegiate-high 20 points and Milwaukee finished the game on an 8-2 run to claim an important 68-62 win at Detroit Thursday night.

Malcolm Moore broke a 60-all on a follow-up basket with 2:15 remaining and Austin Arians helped clinch the win with a three-pointer 50 seconds later as Milwaukee (17-13, 7-9 Horizon) sealed a home game on Tuesday, March 4, in the league tournament.

The victory snapped a four-game losing streak and came without leading scorer Jordan Aaron, who was serving the final game of his four-game suspension for a violation of team rules.

Milwaukee set the tone quickly in the game, jumping out to a 14-4 lead before finishing the win with one final surge.

Lyle was the most noteworthy contributor Tuesday, scoring nine points early and then effectively clinching the win with a late layin.

Kyle Kelm added 11 points and Austin Arians 10 for Milwaukee, which overcame extensive foul trouble throughout the night and wound up getting at least one basket from eight of the 11 players that made the trip. Plus, the Panthers vastly improved their defense from a loss to UIC Tuesday and shot an efficient 55.3 percent from the field.

Jarod Williams had 12 points and Evan Bruinsma 10 for Detroit (13-17. 6-9), which finishes its season Saturday afternoon at home against Green Bay.

The Panthers put together a very solid first 20 minutes of basketball. The Panthers jumped out to a 14-4 lead in the first six-plus minutes behind nine points from Lyle. Detroit pulled back to within 14-8 but Lyle knocked down a three with 6:11 left to push the Panther advantage to 23-13.

After Carlton Brundidge scored to make it 23-17, Milwaukee answered with the next six points to build a 29-17 advantage with 2:23 remaining. But Detroit countered with the final six points of the half to pull within 29-23 at the break.

The Panthers still led 39-31 after a pair of Kelm free throws with 14:01 remaining and 43-37 on a Cody Wichmann basket with 12:25 left. But Detroit rallied, pulling within 43-42 on a Matthew Grant layin before taking a 51-49 lead on a pair of Brundidge free throws with 7:31 remaining.

The Panthers never let the Titans get ahead any further, though, as a Wichmann three gave Milwaukee a 58-55 lead and a layin by Lyle pushed Milwaukee ahead 60-58.

That set the stage for UWM's final burst, with Moore and Arians starting it before a Lyle layin and a free throw by Kelm salted the game away.

#rv/rv Green Bay 71, Oakland 63
Alec Brown and Keifer Sykes combined for 21 points in the second half as Green Bay rallied from 15 down to defeat Oakland 71-63 on Thursday night and claim the outright Horizon League championship.

Brown finished with 18 points - 10 in the first half - and Sykes and Jordan Fouse had 16 each. Alfonzo McKinnie added 10 for the Phoenix (23-5, 13-2 Horizon), who are now two games ahead of Cleveland State with one game remaining.

Oakland (11-19, 6-9 Horizon ) was ahead 46-31 early in the second half before the Phoenix went to work, shooting 65.4 percent in the half. Green Bay went ahead for good on a Sykes basket with 10:27 left and led by as many as 10 points. Green Bay outscored Oakland 40-19 in the half.

Duke Mondy scored 17 points and Corey Petros 14 for the Golden Grizzlies, whose 19 losses are the most since the 2004-05 season.

After the first possession of the second half, Green Bay found itself down 15 points to Oakland. Sparked by the offense and defense of Jordan Fouse, the Phoenix outscored the Golden Grizzlies 40-17 over the final 19:22.

Green Bay trailed 48-34 before Fouse scored three consecutive layups to spark an 11-0 run over the next four-plus minutes. The 6-foot-7 forward made 6-of-6 shots from the field and finished with a season-high 16 points and nine rebounds.

Oakland extended its lead to 54-50 before the Phoenix used another 8-0 run to take the lead for good with 10 minutes to play. Part of the run was an alley oop lob from Tevin Findlay to McKinnie for a monster dunk.

Green Bay held a 64-61 lead with four minutes to play when Carrington Love stole the ball from Mondy. On the other end, the Phoenix milked the shot clock before McKinnie knocked down a triple for a 67-61 lead at the 3:36 mark. McKinnie made 4-of-5 shots, including 2-of-2 from long range, and finished with a season-high 10 points.

Oakland didn’t score until there were 54 seconds to play, and Green Bay got a dunk from Brown and a layup from Sykes to seal the victory.

Brown and Sykes were overshadowed by Fouse and McKinnie, but the All-Horizon League duo combined for 34 points. Brown made a career-high four triples, and Sykes added six rebounds and six assists to his point total.

In the second half, Green Bay held Oakland to just 19 points on 8-of-24 from the field and 1-of-12 from long range. The Phoenix held Oakland sharpshooter to just six points on 1-of-11 from the field and 1-of-9 from long range. This season against Green Bay, Bader has combined for 14 points on 3-of-23 from the field and 3-of-20 from beyond the arc.

With Fouse and McKinnie combining for 10-of-11, Green Bay finished the game 28-of-48 from the field, including 17-of-26 in the second half.