Records, Rivalries & Three-Pointers On Display Saturday

Horizon League Men's Basketball Scoreboard (Jan. 14, 2012):
Green Bay 57, Wright State 56
UIC 58, Loyola 51
Milwaukee 84, Detroit 74

A new single-game blocks record, a comeback from 17 points down, an intra-city rivalry and a ridiculous three-point shooting display. Saturday had a little bit of everything in Horizon League men's basketball action, as Green Bay, UIC and Milwaukee held home court.

Green Bay 57, Wright State 56
Trailing by 17 points with 13 minutes to play, Green Bay staged the biggest comeback in the Horizon League this year, stunning Wright State, 57-56, in the Horizon League Network Game of the Week at the Resch Center.

Green Bay (7-10, 3-4 Horizon) snapped a four-game losing streak at the expense of Wright State (9-10, 4-4 Horizon), who dropped its second straight contest.

A Reggie Arceneaux jumper extended Wright State's lead to 46-29 with 13:04 to play before the Phoenix staged their comeback. Three pointers on three straight possessions by Kam Cerroni and Steve Baker helped get the rally started, and from there, Green Bay attacked the basket, using the free throw line as its sixth man.

Seven free throws helped Green Bay close the gap to a single possession before Keifer Sykes knotted the game at 49 with 4:23 to play. Free throws by Matt Vest and Julius Mays pushed the Raiders back in front with 2:20 to go, but the Phoenix would come back once more, with Alec Brown and Sykes converting freebies to bring Green Bay within a point.

The lead would change three times in the final minute, with two Cerroni free throws giving Green Bay a 54-53 edge with 49 ticks left; down 55-53, Wright State would take the lead with 13 seconds left on a three-point play by Mays, as the junior drove the left side of the lane for a layup, was fouled and converted the free throw to make it a 56-55 Raider lead.

Given the last chance, though, Sykes would drive the left baseline and be tripped, sending the freshman to the line. Sykes converted both to put Green Bay up, 57-56, with 3.0 to play, and Mays could not hit a last-second attempt from half court.

The comeback overshadowed a dominant defensive effort from Brown, who set a new Horizon League single game record with 11 blocks. The effort set a new facility and Green Bay record as well for the sophomore. Moving into second place on the all-time Green Bay blocks list, Brown narrowly missed a triple-double, finishing with nine points and eight boards to go along with the swats.

Green Bay outshot Wright State at the free throw line, 26-of-35 to 5-of-6, with a 17-of-23 effort in the second half fueling the comeback. Sykes finished with a game-high 16 points, while Cerroni added 11 for the Phoenix. Mays, hampered by an inflamed Achilles, finished with 15 points for Wright State, with Arceneaux chipping in 11.

UIC 58, Loyola 51
With Loyola threatening to collect its fifth straight win in the Windy City rivalry, UIC used timely three-point shooting to grab a 58-51 win over the Ramblers at UIC Pavilion.

A three-point play by Walt Gibler put Loyola (5-12, 0-7 Horizon) on top, 45-44, with 8:10 to play, but UIC (6-11, 2-5 Horizon) wiped out the deficit quickly, as a Dorian Tyler layup and three-pointer by Daniel Barnes restored a four-point lead for the Flames. Barnes would hit six threes on the day, leading UIC with 18 points.

Barnes' final three of the afternoon extended UIC's advantage to 52-47, and a Paris Carter layup would give the Flames a 54-47 edge with 4:45 to play. Still, Loyola would come back once more, with Christian Thomas and Gibler scoring four straight points to bring the Ramblers within three points.

Gary Talton would hit 4-of-7 free throws down the stretch, however, as UIC held off Loyola in the final two minutes. Talton finished the contest with 16 points. Darrin Williams added 11 for the Flames.

UIC led throughout, with Loyola claiming slim one-point leads in each of the halves; in both instances, the Flames responded with a three-pointer on the subsequent possession to grab the lead.

Gibler led all scorers with 21 points, while Ben Averkamp struggled from the floor, going 5-of-14 in finishing with 10 points.

Milwaukee 84, Detroit 74
Behind 10 first-half three pointers, Milwaukee built a 20-point lead and held off Detroit in the second half, moving into first place in the Horizon League after an 84-74 win at U.S. Cellular Arena.

Milwaukee (14-6, 6-1 Horizon) won its 15th conference game in its last 16, moving a half game ahead of Cleveland State; the Vikings play at Valparaiso on Sunday.

Paris Gulley was the shooting star for the Panthers, drilling six three-pointers and keying a start that saw the Panthers build a 51-29 lead in the first half; the 26 points for Gulley matched the season high in Horizon League play.

Collectively, the Panthers could not miss from the start, hitting four of their first five attempts from three-point range, opening a 21-11 advantage after a Kaylon Williams triple. A Gulley three pushed the lead to 14, with another long-distance bomb by the junior creating the 22-point gap. At the half, Milwaukee held a 51-31 edge on Detroit (9-11, 3-5 Horizon).

In the half, Milwaukee went 10-of-16 from three-point range.

Down 73-55 with 6:12 to play, Detroit went to a hack-a-Panther strategy, using a combination of missed Milwaukee free throws and timely shooting to close within 78-70 after a Jason Calliste three with 1:39 on the clock. The Titans had a chance to draw closer, but a turnover gave the ball back to Milwaukee, and the Panthers hit 6-of-10 free throws in the last minute to secure the win.

A balanced Milwaukee attack was led by Gulley's 26, while James Haarsma posted 17. Williams finished with 12 points and nine assists, recording nine helpers in each game of the conference weekend. Ryan Allen matched Williams' output with 12.

Ray McCallum paced Detroit with 23 points, hitting three triples in the first half and adding four assists. Chase Simon chipped in 14 and Eli Holman notched a double-double with 12 points and 11 boards.