Wright State, Milwaukee Prevail in #HLMBB Second Round

#HLMBB Championship Bracket

Men’s Basketball Scoreboard
No. 3 Wright State 73, No. 6 Oakland 57
No. 5 Milwaukee 74, No. 4 Valparaiso 57

ASHWAUBENON, Wis.—Second Round action of the 2014 Horizon League Men’s Basketball Championship saw No. 3 Wright State knock off No. 6 Oakland, 73-57. In the night cap, No. 5 Milwaukee topped No. 4 Valparaiso, 74-57.

Wright State 73, Oakland 57
Miles Dixon scored a season-high 20 points and posted six rebounds to lead No. 3 Wright State over No. 6 Oakland 73-57 in the Second Round of the Horizon League Men’s Basketball Championship.

Dixon was 6-of-10 from the field, including 2-of-3 on 3-pointers, and made 6-of-7 free-throw attempts. Matt Vest chipped in 11 points for the Raiders.

“It can be anybody on any night,” Dixon said. “I am glad we came out with the win.”

Wright State, who never trailed in the contest, held Oakland to their lowest scoring output against a Horizon League opponent this season. Their previous low was 60 at Valparaiso on Feb. 9.

Oakland was led by Travis Bader, who scored 20 points on 5-of-13 shooting. Bader made his first six free throw attempts of the night to tie Cleveland State’s Norris Cole (24-of-24; 2011) for the best free throw percentage in tournament history. Bader missed his 25th attempt and finished the tournament 25-of-26 (96.2%).

Bader knocked down three 3’s and ends his career with 504 3-pointers made, an NCAA career-record.

Oakland’s season comes to a close and finishes at 13-20 record. Wright State (19-13), winners of its last five, will face Cleveland State (21-10) in the semifinals Saturday at 7:00 p.m. ET. Live coverage will be available on ESPN3 with ESPNU replaying the game at 11:30 p.m. ET.

Milwaukee 74, Valparaiso 57
No. 5 Milwaukee took a 31-22 lead into half and defeated No. 4 Valparaiso, 74-57.

The Panthers jumped out to a 9-0 lead to start the contest and never looked back.

"I think the key for us was our start, " Milwaukee head coach Rob Jeter said.

Trailing 54-40 with 7:52 remaining, Valparaiso went on a 6-0 run, powered by back to back 3’s by Lavonte Dority and Bobby Capobianco. However, Milwaukee answered with a bucket and a free throw by Kyle Kelm.

Jordan Aaron finished with 20 points and Matt Tiby posted 18 points. Tiby was a perfect 11-of-11 from the line.

Austin Arians led the Panthers with 10 first half points and finished the contest with 13 points.

Remarkably, Valparaiso didn’t record a single offensive rebound. Milwaukee out rebounded the Crusaders 41-to-19, which included 19 Panther offensive rebounds.

"If we rebound like that, I don't know who can stop us," Aaron said.

Alec Peters led Valparaiso with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting

Valparaiso, last season’s league champion, ends their 2013-14 campaign with a 17-15 record.

Milwaukee (18-13) advances to face Green Bay in the semifinals Saturday. Live coverage is available on ESPNU with game time set for 9:30 p.m. ET.