MADISON, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - Brian Wardle is not one for moral victories, but the first-year Green Bay (4-7) head coach certainly has some positives to build after Monday's 70-56 non-conference loss against Wisconsin (9-2) at the Kohl Center in Madison.

Freshman Alec Brown (Winona, Minn.) had a career-high 18 points and eight rebounds, going 8-for-11 from the field and adding a pair of blocks against a tough Wisconsin front line.

Senior guard Rahmon Fletcher (Kansas City, Mo.) had another strong outing, tying Brown for game-high honors with 18 points and adding six assists. With a three early in the second half, he moved into 10th place on Green Bay's all-time scoring chart, passing B.J. LaRue.

Green Bay also became the first team this season to commit fewer turnovers than Wisconsin (10-11) at the Kohl Center and matched a Badger team on the boards (30-30) that came in with a plus-8.0 rebounding margin.

"Overall, from our standpoint, I thought we competed, as we do every game," Wardle said. "I thought our effort was there, but we've got to clean things up defensively. Wisconsin is a very good team and I have the utmost respect for Bo Ryan and his coaching staff and what they do here. They really make you work defensively."

Ultimately, it was two tough stretches with hot-shooting from Wisconsin and foul trouble for Fletcher that doomed the Phoenix. In the opening half, Fletcher's sixth and seventh points of the half on a reverse layup gave the visitors a 13-12 lead with 10:53 on the clock.

However, he went to the bench with his second foul moments later, and the Badgers used a 10-2 run to move ahead by seven points. Five points from Mike Bruesewitz increased Wisconsin's lead to double figures, and Wisconsin went to halftime with a 12-points edge (33-21).

A Fletcher three - the one which moved him into the top-10 on the scoring list - and a jumper by Brown cut Green Bay's deficit to seven early two possessions into the second half.

Fletcher's third foul came at the 17:51 mark, and the guard was again forced to the bench. Wisconsin followed with a 13-2 spurt capped by back-to-back threes from Jon Leuer which gave the hosts their biggest lead of the game (46-28) with 12:50 to play.

Wisconsin was held to 11-for-26 shooting from inside the arc, but the Badgers knocked down 10-of-17 three-pointers on the night to doom the Phoenix. They also scored 12 more points than Green Bay from the free throw line, going 18-of-22.

"It hurts us anytime that Rahmon Fletcher's out," Wardle said. "I want him on the floor. I think our team needs him on the floor. He makes plays, he's our leader and he makes us go."

Fletcher returned and helped spark a 11-3 Green Bay spurt which was capped by five-straight points from senior Bryquis Perine (Milwaukee, Wis.), cutting the Wisconsin lead to 10 (57-47) with just under five minutes on the clock.

Brown scored six points in the final four minutes as Green Bay cut the Badger lead to single digits on three occasions, but Wisconsin knocked down free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

The 7-foot-1 Brown had his best game of the year against some stiff competition, setting a career-high in points and tying his career-high on the boards. He had three of Green Bay's 12 offensive rebounds.

"I thought [Brown] was a pretty nice player," said Wisconsin senior Keaton Nankivil, who scored 16 points. "We knew he had good touch from the midrange, but he definitely proved that he could score down low. He had a few jumpers over guards and we had to switch off the different screens. He played hard, and I thought he was very skilled."

Junior Jarvis Williams (Milwaukee, Wis.), in his second game back from injury after a seven-game absence, grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds and added five points and three steals.

Green Bay will take seven days off to focus on final exams before hitting the court again North Dakota. The Phoenix will host the Fighting Sioux on Monday, Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. at the Resch Center in its last non-conference home game of the season.

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