GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - Senior Rahmon Fletcher (Kansas City, Mo.) scored a game-high 21 points Thursday night,
leading his Green Bay (9-9, 3-3 HL) to a first three-game winning streak and a
71-68 victory over visiting Loyola (10-8, 1-6 HL) in a Horizon League contest
at the Resch Center.
It
was the Phoenix defense again helping the team to victory, as Green Bay held
Loyola to 37.5 percent from the field, including 28.0 percent in the first 20
minutes. Holding its fourth-straight opponent below 40 percent from the field helped
the Phoenix build an 11-point lead midway through the second half and a 10-point
edge (65-55) with 2:51 to play.
"Another
double-digit lead, but I think they scored 10 points in about the last minute,"
said head coach Brian Wardle. "The positive is that we had
that double-digit lead. We're guarding people. We are making things happen with
ball pressure and we were very active tonight. It was a big team win and a
bunch of guys contributed."
For
the second-straight game, the Phoenix and senior Bryquis Perine
(Milwaukee, Wis.) jumped out quickly, and a Perine three-pointer gave the hosts
an 11-4 lead. While defending the Ramblers well in the opening 20 minutes, the
Phoenix offense struggled with 10 first-half turnovers that kept the game
close. A Perine jumper with three seconds left put Green Bay ahead 29-26 at the
break.
Fletcher
scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half Thursday, and the senior is
averaging 11.9 points in the second halves of Green Bay's eight wins. Fellow
senior Bryquis Perine (Milwaukee, Wis.)
added nine of his 16 points and five assists in the victory, and is averaging
7.7 points in the same scenario.
A
10-3 run early in the second half gave the team its biggest lead of the game
(47-36) with 11:26 to play, but the Ramblers responded with eight-straight to
again cut the deficit to three.
The
Phoenix lead shrunk to two on a couple of occasions in the second half, but led
by Fletcher and freshman Alec Brown (Winona, Minn.), Green Bay never
relinquished its advantage. Fletcher scored four points and Brown converted a
three-point play during a decisive 12-4 run that made it 65-55 with just over a
minute remaining. For the night, Fletcher made seven of his 17 shots, including
a 4-for-7 effort from long range.
"Rahmon
Fletcher was huge. I told him to keep that confidence and that swag level high
and keep shooting because they are going to fall," said Wardle. "He carried us
and made some big, big shots. Our two seniors stepped up and made plays."
Brown
was limited to just 16 minutes for the second-straight night, but was effective
while posting 11 points, three rebounds and three blocked shots. Fellow
freshman Daniel Turner (McCordsville, Ind.) added eight points and a game-high 10
rebounds and junior Jarvis Williams (Milwaukee, Wis.) had eight points
and five rebounds in another good night for the Phoenix frontline.
Green
Bay outrebounded its six-straight opponent overall and its sixth Horizon League
foe in six contests. Turner's 10 boards helped the Phoenix to a 34-33 edge on the
glass.
Green
Bay wraps up its four-game homestand and looks to move above .500 on Saturday,
hosting UIC at 11 a.m. at the Resch Center. In conjunction with the 11 a.m.
start, Green Bay is offering all adult tickets for the game for just $11 each.
For
more information on individual game tickets or season tickets or Pick 5
packages, please visit GreenBayPhoenix.com/tickets or call the Green Bay ticket office at
920.465.2625.
GREEN BAY
71, LOYOLA 68
LOYOLA
(10-8, 1-6 HL)
AVERKAMP, Ben 8-12 2-2 19; McCAMMON, Geoff 4-7 1-2 11;
HILL, Terrance 2-11 5-6 11; GIBLER, Walt 1-6 6-6 8; ADAMS, Shaun 2-6 2-2 7;
POLKA, Andy 1-1 2-4 4; KINDRED, Gabe 2-5 0-0 4; STANLEY, Courtney 1-6 2-2 4;
BENKOSKE, John 0-2 0-0 0; KADIMA, Chim 0-0 0-0 0; BRITO, Denzel 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals 21-56 20-24 68.
GREEN BAY
(9-9, 3-3 HL)
FLETCHER, Rahmon 7-17 3-5 21; PERINE, Bryquis 5-10 4-4
16; BROWN, Alec 3-4 5-7 11; TURNER, Daniel 2-6 4-6 8; WILLIAMS, Jarvis 4-6 0-2
8; BAKER, Steve 1-3 2-3 4; LESAGE, Greg 1-2 1-2 3; HEUER, Clayton 0-0 0-0 0;
EVANS, Seth 0-0 0-0 0; CERRONI, Kam 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-48 19-29 71.
Loyola.......................... 26
42 - 68
Green
Bay..................... 29 42
- 71
