Horizon League Men's Basketball Scores (Saturday, Jan. 7):
Cleveland State 69, Loyola 48
Youngstown State 71, UIC 50
Milwaukee 64, Green Bay 63
Entering Saturday, 14 of 22 Horizon League men's basketball games had been within a single possession during the last minute of regulation. Milwaukee and Green Bay made sure that trend continued, staging a thrilling finish to cap the evening in men's basketball.
Milwaukee 64, Green Bay 63
Down eight points at the half and two with 1.1 seconds left, Kaylon Williams lifted Milwaukee past Green Bay, hitting a three as time expired to push the Panthers to a 64-63 win at U.S. Cellular Arena on Saturday evening.
Milwaukee (11-6, 4-1 Horizon) trailed for most of the game before rallying for the win in the closing seconds, overcoming a Green Bay (6-9, 2-3 Horizon) effort that saw the Phoenix take a 40-32 lead into the half. The Phoenix blitzed the Panthers through the game's first 20 minutes, putting up 40 points in the first half, just 18 off Milwaukee's season average of 58.8 points allowed per game.
Down 40-32 at the half, the Panthers rallied with an 11-2 run to open the second half, taking their first lead of the day at 43-42 on a Ryan Allen layup. Green Bay would come right back before another Allen bucket pushed UWM to a 51-49 advantage with 10:31 remaining. The Panthers would lead by as many as four points before Green Bay rallied once more.
Five straight points from Kam Cerroni would stake the Phoenix to a 60-57 lead with 2:17 left, and a Terry Johnson three-point play pushed the lead to 63-57 with just 1:45 remaining. Allen responded with another layup, giving him a double-double of 10 points and 12 boards.
Down 63-59, two Paris Gulley free throws slashed the deficit in half before a Brennan Cougill turnover gave Milwaukee a chance at the win. Williams drove the right side and missed a layup to tie, with the rebound caromming out of bounds in the Panthers' favor. With 1.1 ticks left, Gulley found Williams on the wing for the game-winning bucket.
Williams finished the night with 13 points, complementing his seven assists. In a showcase of the teams' freshmen, Gulley posted 18 points, while Green Bay's Keifer Sykes led all players with 20 on the night. Cougill added 12 for the Phoenix, while James Haarsma recorded 14 for UWM.
Cleveland State 69, Loyola 48
Trailing at the midway point of the first half, Cleveland State locked down defensively, holding home court against Loyola, 69-48, in the Horizon League Network Game of the Week.
Cleveland State (14-3, 4-1 Horizon) trailed 11-10 with 9:19 remaining in the first half before a Trey Harmon three fueled a 22-6 closing run as the Vikings opened a 32-17 edge at the half. Harmon finished the first half with three triples in his first game back from a concussion.
The senior added three more in the second half as Cleveland State went 10-for-17 from three-point range on the afternoon. Over its weekend, Cleveland State went 21-for-37 from three; over the last five games, the Vikings have gone 48-for-100 from beyond the arc.
Loyola (5-11, 0-6 Horizon) became the fourth Cleveland State opponent to fall short of 50 points this year, getting 10 points apiece from Walt Gibler, Ben Averkamp and Denzel Brito. Gibler's effort extended his double-digit scoring streak to a career-best 10 games.
Harmon led all scorers with 20 points, going a career-best 6-of-7 from three-point range, while Tim Kamczyc narrowly missed his first double-double with 11 points and nine boards. Anton Grady added 10 points off the CSU bench.
Youngstown State 71, UIC 50
Youngstown State opened a 17-point lead early in the first half and rebuilt the advantage early in the second half, cruising to a 71-50 victory over UIC at the Beeghly Center.
With the win, Youngstown State (9-6, 4-1 Horizon) started 4-1 in conference play for the first time since joining the Horizon League. Ashen Ward's 22 points played a key role in the win, with Ward going 4-of-5 from three-point range as the Penguins went 9-for-22 from beyond the three-point arc.
Down 3-2 early in the contest, the Penguins went on to score the game's next 13 points, opening a 15-3 lead and taking a 36-22 lead into the break, scoring the final nine point of the half after UIC (5-11, 1-5 Horizon) closed within 27-22 with 5:27 remaining in the half.
Ward scored YSU's first 14 points of the second half, single-handedly putting the Penguins on a 14-2 run and helping to seal the result.
Ward led four Penguins in double figures, with Kendrick Perry adding 14, Damian Eargle 11 and Blake Allen 10. Hayden Humes was the lone UIC player with 10-plus points, finishing with 11.
After tonight, 15-of-25 Horizon League conference games have been within a single possession in the final minute of regulation.
