Jan. 11, 2007

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CLEVELAND - Cleveland State was done in by a poor final 20 minutes for the second straight game, as the Vikings fell, 60-48, to UW-Milwaukee on Thursday night in the Wolstein Center. The loss drops CSU to 6-12 overall and 0-5 in the Horizon League, while the Panthers improve to 5-13, 2-3.

The Vikings led 28-24 at the break and quickly extended the bulge to eight on back-to-back lay-ups by Carlos English and Joe Davis. However, CSU's offense would go dormant for the next six minutes as UWM pulled even at the 12:57 mark (34-34) with a 10-2 burst.

The teams traded baskets for the next five minutes, before a Bahaadar Russell three-pointer gave the Vikings their last lead of the game (41-40) with 7:48 remaining. Avery Smith quickly countered with consecutive lay-ups to bring the ninth and final lead change.

After a jumper by Paige Paulson pushed the advantage to five (46-41), CSU briefly cut into the lead on a pair of J'Nathan Bullock free throws and a Patrick Tatham jumper.

That would be as close as the Vikings would get as the Panthers answered with a 7-0 jaunt over a two-minute span to go up 53-45 with 2:41 left to play. UWM held CSU at bay down the stretch by making 5-of-6 from the free throw line.

For the half, the Panthers connected on 12 of their 18 field goal attempts (66.7 percent), while CSU was just 7-for-29 (24.1 percent).

English paced the Vikings with 12 points and four assists, while Bullock finished with 11 points and nine rebounds.

Allan Hanson tallied a game-high 15 points with six rebounds and four assists to lead the Panthers. Smith added 12 points, six boards and three assists, while Marcus Skinner notched 10 points and six rebounds.

UW-Milwaukee took control early in the game, using a 9-2 run capped by two Allan Hanson free throws to go ahead, 18-12, at the 9:07 mark. CSU answered with a 12-0 run on four treys in four minutes, including two by English, to take a 24-18 lead with 4:34 left in the opening half.

Four straight points brought UWM within 24-22 with just under two minutes remaining. After the two teams traded baskets in the final minute, English hit a pull-up jumper with three seconds left to give CSU a 28-24 lead at the half.

For the game, the Panthers held a 40-32 advantage on the boards, while out-shooting CSU 43.8 percent to 31.6 percent.

The Vikings will play the second game of their three-game homestand on Saturday, Jan. 13 against Detroit. Tip-off is at 5:30 p.m.