By: Andrew Gavin (@GBGavin)
GreenBayPhoenix.com

GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - Brian Wardle has preached defense and outrebounding since he got the head coaching job at Green Bay in the Spring of 2011. Saturday night at the Resch Center, the Phoenix (2-2) needed strong efforts in both categories to grind out a 52-44 victory over visiting Wyoming (2-1) in non-conference men's basketball action.

Limiting the Cowboys to just 18.5 percent (5-27) shooting in the second half and outrebounding its fourth-straight opponent, the Phoenix gave up just 12 points in the final 17:11 Saturday. The stifling defense coupled with big plays by a host of players to help Green Bay end a short two-game slide and even its record.

"That was a throwback game," said Wardle. "Both teams were playing really good defense, really clogging up the lane and making it tough to finish around the rim, and contesting shots. It was a well-fought, tough, physical game and it is great to come out on top. I knew it was going to be a hard-fought battle, and it was good for this team to see that, just like I preach every day, defense and rebounding can help you win games and you can still win games when the ball is not falling."

After Wyoming took an early second half lead, with a 6-2 spurt out of halftime, the Phoenix reclaimed the edge and never let it go. The lead was just 40-37, however, with less than five minutes to play. Sophomore Kam Cerroni (Sussex, Wis.) drained a three to start a 7-0 run that was capped by a jumper from sophomore Alec Brown (Winona, Minn.) and a layup from sophomore Terry Johnson (Chicago, Ill.) and gave the hosts a 47-37 lead with 1:40 to play.

Brown finished with his fourth-straight game in double figures and with at least eight rebounds to open the season. He ended his night with 15 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots in a game-high 33 minutes. He hit 3-of-4 free throws in the final minute to help seal the win.

The Phoenix turned the ball over seven times in the opening 10 minutes to fall behind by as many as eight points early (16-8), but only one turnover the rest of the half and a strong spurt from junior Brennan Cougill (Sioux City, Iowa) helped Green Bay rally to take a 29-26 lead at intermission.

The 6-foot-9, 265-pound Cougill, who is quickly becoming a crowd favorite at the Resch, finished a 9-0 run with a driving layup and a three-pointer from the top of the key to turn a 19-12 deficit into a 21-19 lead. Cougill had eight points at the break and finished the contest with nine points and nine rebounds.

"I try to stay pretty focused on the game, but it is always nice to hear people chant Coogs when I come in the game," said Cougill. "I don't know [why they like me], that is for the fans to decide. I'm sure they have their reasons, but I'm happy that I'm a crowd favorite."

Sophomore Daniel Turner (McCordsville, Ind.) added eight rebounds to Cougill and Brown's numbers to help Green Bay outrebound the Cowboys 43-35. Green Bay is at least plus-six on the glass in each of its four games this season.

It will be yet another quick turnaround for the Phoenix, as it travels to Terre Haute, Ind., on Sunday and will play at Indiana State on Monday night at 6:05 p.m. Indiana State will enter the game at 3-0.

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GREEN BAY 52, WYOMING 44

WYOMING (2-1)
WASHINGTON, Leonard 4-11 3-4 11; LUSTER, JayDee 2-6 4-8 10; CRUZ, Francisco 4-11 0-0 9; WADDELL, Adam 3-4 0-0 6; BOUEDO, Arthur 2-4 0-0 5; MARTINEZ, Luke 0-8 3-5 3; NANCE Jr, Larry 0-1 0-0 0; WATSABAUGH, Rob 0-0 0-0 0; GRABAU, Riley 0-0 0-0 0; GILMORE, Derrious 0-1 0-0 0; SMITH, Shakir 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 15-47 10-17 44.

GREEN BAY (2-2)
BROWN, Alec 6-13 3-4 15; COUGILL, Brennan 3-5 2-3 9; TURNER, Daniel 2-8 1-2 6; BAKER, Steve 2-6 1-2 6; CERRONI, Kam 1-4 3-4 6; JOHNSON, Terry 2-7 0-0 4; ARMSTEAD, Aaron 1-7 1-2 4; SYKES, Keifer 1-4 0-0 2; WILLIAMS, Jarvis 0-3 0-0 0; VALENTIN, Eric 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-57 11-17 52.

Wyoming.......................   26   18  -   44
Green Bay.....................   29   23  -   52