Friday, December 6, 2002

Wisconsin-Milwaukee defensive in 61-48 win over FIU

isconsin-Milwaukee defeats FIU, 61-48, at the Pizza Hut Classic in Springfield, MO. Fab Fisher led the Golden Panthers (4-2) with 11 points.

Eulis Baez recorded his fourth consecutive double-double, with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Wisconsin-Milwaukee (4-2) was led by Jason Frederick's 18 points, all on three-point baskets.

Neither team could muster much offensively in the first six minutes of the game, with FIU getting two baskets from Fisher, while Wisconsin-Milwaukee got two free-throws from Clay Tucker. FIU lead 5-2 with 14-minutes left in the half.

UWM took the lead when it went to a pressing defense, going up 14-11, before Baez hit his first basket of the game, a three-pointer, to tie with 11:40 left.

Two Al Harris free-throws tied the game at 16 with eight-minutes to play. Wisconsin-Milwaukee would go on a 6-0 run over the next five minutes sparked by two field-goals by Tucker.

After Nicola Novakovic responded with a three-point play, UWM ended the half on a 9-1 run, including a three-pointer by Jason Frederick at the buzzer. The three was Frederick's fourth of the game, giving him a game-high 12 points in the first half. The score at intermission was 31-20.

FIU shot 32-percent (7-for-22) from the field in the first half, compared to UWM's 48-percent (12-for-25).

Fisher would lead the Golden Panthers to start the second half hitting all three free-throws and another three-point basket to bring FIU to within 33-26. UWM's Frederick would hit his fifth three-pointer, before FIU would go on a 6-0 run for a 36-32 deficit with 15-minutes left to play in the game.

Wisconsin-Milwaukee came back with a 7-2 run over the next four minutes, all thanks to three field goals by Justin Lettenberger. The Panthers would maintain a lead of at least eight the rest of the way.

The Golden Panthers would commit a season-high 31 turnovers. UWM held FIU to its lowest scoring output on the season with 48 on 33-percent shooting (14-for-43). The previous was 60 in the win over Morris Brown.

FIU will play in the consolation game tomorrow at 7:05 p.m. (Eastern) against the loser of the Samford/Southwest Missouri State contest.