By: Andrew Gavin (@GBGavin)
GreenBayPhoenix.com

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - In Brian Wardle's second return to the Bradley Center as the Green Bay head coach, sophomore Alec Brown (Winona, Minn.) tied a career-high with 22 points, set a career high with 14 rebounds and added five blocks, but the Phoenix (4-6) fell to No. 11/11 Marquette (9-0) 79-61 in its final non-conference game away from home.

Brown struggled to just 3-of-10 shooting in the first half, but had 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting after the break to tie his career-high point total. His five blocks also moved the sophomore into sole possession of fourth place on the program's all-time blocks list.

Wardle, who scored 1,690 career points as a Marquette standout from 1997-2001, watched his alma mater score the first six points and race out to an 11-2 lead on Saturday night. After the slow start, the Phoenix played Marquette even the rest of the half with sophomore Terry Johnson (Chicago, Ill.) and Brown scoring seven and six points, respectively. Brown added eight rebounds as the Phoenix held a 21-17 edge on the glass in the opening 20 minutes.

Johnson had 10 points and three assists on the night in a career-high 32 minutes.

Marquette took advantage of another slow start by the Phoenix in the second half, scoring 12 of the first 14 points to lead 44-25 with 17:30. Brown scored the next seven Green Bay points to end the run, but Marquette's lead reached 20 (52-32) with 14:04 to play.

Threes from freshman Keifer Sykes (Chicago, Ill.) and sophomore Kam Cerroni (Sussex, Wis.) sparked a 14-5 run that cut the deficit to 9:28 on the clock. Cerroni hit three from long range to add nine points in his first career start.

Led by the career-high board total from Brown, Green Bay outrebounded the Golden Eagles 39-34. Brown had eight of the team's 13 rebounds. The 7-foot-1 sophomore moved into sole possession of fourth place on the program's all-time blocks list and now has 95 in 42 career games.

Green Bay returns to action on Tuesday when the Phoenix hosts Michigan Tech at the Resch Center at 7 p.m.

###

Season tickets, Pick 5 packages and single-game tickets for both programs are currently on sale with the Green Bay ticket office. For more information on ticket packages and promotions, please visit GreenBayPhoenix.com/tickets.

For the latest and most up-to-date information on Green Bay Athletics, please visit GreenBayPhoenix.com.

Follow us on Twitter: @GBPhoenix, @GBPhoenixMBB and @GBGavin.