By: Andrew Gavin (@GBGavin)
GreenBayPhoenix.com

GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - It had been over eight years since a Green Bay team had left the Nutter Center after a victory. After making the winning plays late that head coach Brian Wardle has been emphasizing, Green Bay (10-13, 6-7 HL) posted a road win over Wright State (11-15, 6-8 HL) Friday night with almost the identical score.

Green Bay ended Friday's game on a 10-4 run, getting back-to-back buckets from freshman Keifer Sykes (Chicago, Ill.) and sophomore Alec Brown (Winona, Minn.) and hitting a perfect a 6-of-6 free throws in the final minute to win 53-48. On Jan. 5, 2004, the Phoenix got its last victory at Wright State, beating the Raiders 53-46.

Brown had his second double-double in a row with 14 points and 10 rebounds. The 7-foot-1 sophomore added three blocks to break his own single-season school record with 70 on the year.

Sykes continued an impressive streak of late, reaching double figures for the ninth time in 10 games. The freshman scored 10 of his 13 points in the second half and added four rebounds and three assists in 36 minutes. He is averaging 14.7 points and 4.2 assists in the 10-game stretch.

Wright Sate opened the second half with a 24-23 lead and answered an early bucket from Brown with a 5-0 run to move ahead 29-25. The final 15 minutes included seven lead changes with neither team leading by more than a possession.

The final lead change was at the 4:05 mark when Sykes scored on a layup in the lane to put the Phoenix ahead 45-44. Brown scored on the next trip for a three-point lead.

After a Reggie Arceneaux layup cut the Green Bay edge to 49-48 with 49 seconds left, Brown grabbed an offensive rebound on a Kam Cerroni (Sussex, Wis.) missed three with under 15 ticks on the clock. Cerroni then drained a pair of free throws for a 51-48 lead.

Sykes then forced an Arceneaux turnover with WSU trying to tie the game, and Cerroni made two more free throws for the final margin. The sophomore struggled to a 1-for-8 shooting night from the field but hit four critical free throws.

Brown's 10 rebounds helped the Phoenix to a 38-25 edge on the backboards. Junior Brennan Cougill (Sioux City, Iowa) added seven points and seven rebounds for Green Bay.

The Phoenix has a quick turnaround before playing at Detroit on Sunday afternoon at noon. The Titans posted a come-from-behind 58-57 win over Milwaukee on Friday night.

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