GREEN BAY, Wis.
(GreenBayPhoenix.com) - After a
thrilling 73-70 overtime victory on Thursday night, Green Bay will look to
close its regular season with a win on Saturday at UIC at 1 p.m. A win would
give the Phoenix a five-game winning streak heading into the Horizon League
Tournament and hopefully host a first round contest at the Resch Center.
The game will be televised live on Time Warner Cable
Sports32 in Wisconsin, with Chris Roth
(play-by-play) and Andrew Gavin
(color analyst) on the call.
Sophomore Kam Cerroni (Sussex, Wis.), the Horizon League's three-point leader, drained
the game-winning three-pointer on Thursday, giving Green Bay its fourth win in
a row and seventh in the past nine games. The Phoenix knocked down 9-of-14
three-pointers in the win, its fourth game in the last five contests the team
has hit nine or more triples. Green Bay is now shooting 39.6 percent.
Freshman Keifer Sykes (Chicago, Ill.), strengthening his case for Newcomer of the Year
honors in the Horizon League, had 13 points and eight assists Thursday. The
Chicago native has scored in double figures in nine consecutive games and the
14th time in the 15 games since his 18th birthday.
Green Bay earned a hard-fought 71-68 win over UIC when
the teams met way back on Dec. 1. Sophomore Alec Brown (Winona,
Minn.), coming off an 18-point, 12-rebound game at Loyola, had 17 points in the
first meeting.
UIC fell 72-61 to Milwaukee on Thursday night, with
Marc Brown hitting five of the team's eight threes and scoring a team-high 17
points.
The game will also be broadcast live on
WDUZ The Fan with the pregame show beginning at 12:45 p.m. Matt Menzl will be
on the call for the radio broadcast. To listen live online, click
here.
• INSIDE
THE SERIES: The Phoenix has faced UIC more than any other opponent in its
history, with 83 previous meetings between the two squads. Green Bay is 48-35
all-time against the Flames entering Saturday, including 18-20 on the
road.
• THE FIRST MEETING: Green Bay won the first meeting 71-68 in the Horizon
League opener for both teams. The Phoenix led by seven at halftime and 10 early
in the second half before UIC rallied. Alec Brown had 17 points and seven
rebounds to lead four players in double figures.
• BACK HOME ON THE ROAD: The Phoenix brings nine different players and coaches
from the Chicago area to the Windy City this weekend. All six Green Bay players
from Chicago are newcomers, including sophomore Terry Johnson and freshmen
Aaron Armstead, Jared Dimakos, Josh Humphrey, Greg Mays and Keifer Sykes. The
Chicago natives combined for 28 points in Tuesday's win.
• HOME SWEET HOME: Green Bay went 12-2 at the Resch Center this season, completing one of
its best ever seasons at the facility. The Phoenix went 13-2 at home during the
2008-09 season. Green Bay has a 22-6 home record in two seasons under head
coach Brian Wardle.
• CAN I SEE SOME ID?: Sykes is in the running for Horizon League Newcomers
of the Year. Since turning 18 on Dec. 30, the freshman is averaging 14.4 points
and 4.7 assists in 15 games. Since becoming eligible to vote, the country's
second-youngest player has scored in double figures in 14 of 15 games,
including nine in a row. He leads all Horizon League freshmen in points,
assists and assist-to-turnover ratio and is ninth in the conference in scoring
in league play.
• CERRONI STREAKIN': Cerroni, the Horizon League's top three-point shooter
at 47.2 percent, has consistently given the Phoenix a presence from long
distance. After hitting five threes Tuesday against CSU, he made three more on
Thursday and has now drained a three-pointer in 17-straight games and in 21 of
the past 22. He is now 58-of-123 from long range this season. In league play,
Cerroni is shooting 50.5 percent from beyond the arc and averaging 10.8 points
per game.
• TOP THE CHARTS: Brown has broken the program's single-game, single-season and career
blocked shots records this season. The 7-foot-1 Brown has 86 blocks this season
and 153 for his career. He has a block in 53 of 60 career games and became the
program's all-time leader in the category in just 54 career games. On Thursday, he had four or more blocks for
the 10th time this year, tallying five.
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