By: Andrew Gavin (@GBGavin)
GreenBayPhoenix.com

GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - Sophomore Alec Brown (Winona, Minn.) had 20 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots and freshman Keifer Sykes (Chicago, Ill.) added a career-high 18 points as Green Bay returned home in winning fashion Tuesday night, holding off a scrappy Michigan Tech team 69-61 in non-conference basketball action at the Resch Center, where the Phoenix are now 5-0.

For Brown, who scored 10 points in the opening seven minutes, the five blocks helped him reach 100 career swats in just his his 43rd career game. The 7-foot-1 center was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line and is now shooting 80 percent from the stripe this season.

"Like they say, you can't teach 7-1," Sykes said of Brown. "It is great to have a seven-footer, especially with [Alec] with the skill that he has, and he doesn't just block shots he alters a lot of shots that players bring to the rim. When we lack on defense, he really helps us out."

The contest was tied at 20 in the opening half before the Phoenix closed the half with an 11-2 run. Junior Brennan Cougill (Sioux City, Iowa) had six points during the run, which included three-pointers from Cougill and senior Steve Baker (St. Paul, Minn.)

Sykes had 12 of his 18 points in the second half to help hold off the Huskies, who cut the 11-point halftime deficit (33-22) to 53-50. Sykes scored five points on back-to-back drives, capping it with a three-point play, to push the lead back to eight with 4:14 to play.

"That was a play that had worked in the opening half," Sykes said. "I just told Cougill to set the screen and clear some space for me, and I got two easy layups."

The aggressive freshman point guard shattered his high of 11 (at Indiana State) by making 7-of-15 shots from the field. After picking up two fouls in the first half, Sykes did not commit another foul and tallied two second-half steals.

"He was excellent," Brown said of Sykes. "Something we really need is someone going to the basket, and Keifer is doing a great job of that."

Cougill (Sioux City, Iowa) added 11 points and six rebounds for the Phoenix, who outrebounded its fourth-straight opponent. Cougill had a thunderous dunk with 34 seconds to play for the dagger. Baker and sophomore Daniel Turner (McCordsville, Ind.) had eight points apiece.

Led by Brown, Green Bay hit 21-of-26 shots from the free-throw line, a season high for made free throws. Cougill was 4-for-5 and Turner was 4-of-6. The Phoenix, who had 25 turnovers in its last outing, tied a season-low with seven turnovers.

Milwaukee native Mike Hojnacki scored 18 points to lead Michigan Tech, who fell to 9-1 all-time against Green Bay.

The Phoenix will take nine days off for finals before returning to the court on Dec. 22 when the team hosts Idaho at 7 p.m.

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