By: Andrew Gavin (@GBGavin)
GreenBayPhoenix.com

GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - Junior Alec Brown (Winona, Minn.) was dominant with 21 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots, leading Green Bay (8-9, 2-2 HL) to a 53-47 win over visiting UIC, the fifth-straight home victory for the Phoenix.

Green Bay led for much of the first half, and the game was tied 26-26 at the half, but the hosts struggled offensively in the second half and trailed 43-40 with 4:48 to play.

With layups from senior Brennan Cougill (Sioux City, Iowa) and freshman Jordan Fouse (Racine, Wis.) and a three-point play from Brown, Green Bay scored the next seven points and ended the game on a 13-4 run.

One of the top free throw shooting teams in the country, Green Bay started the game just 9-of-18 from the line. In the decisive run, however, the Phoenix went 7-for-7 from the charity stripe. Brown went 5-of-5 from the line in the final minutes and finished the game with a season-high 21 points. The All-Horizon League First-Team selection hit 6-of-13 shots from the field, including 2-of-3 from long range, and connected on 7-of-8 from the line.

Brown had six of his eight rebounds in the second half as Green Bay held a 17-11 edge on the glass. After UIC collected six offensive rebounds for nine second-chance points in the first 20 minutes, the Flames were unable to get an offensive board after intermission.

Sophomore Keifer Sykes (Chicago, Ill.), who had an uncharacteristically tough afternoon from the field (3-9 FGs, 7 points), tied a career high with seven rebounds and added five assists compared to only one turnover in 38 minutes. Fellow sophomore Greg Mays, also a Chicago native, added seven rebounds to his five points as the Phoenix improved to 7-0 against teams from the Windy City in the past two seasons.

Brown, the rebounding and Green Bay's defense made the difference in the win. UIC shot just 34 percent (16-47) from the field for the game and became the fourth Phoenix opponent during the home winning streak to score 47 or fewer points.

During its winning streak at the Resch Center, Green Bay has held opponents to just 47.4 points per game and a shooting percentage of just 33.8 percent. Brown is averaging 14.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game while shooting 52.7 percent in that stretch.

Junior Kam Cerroni (Sussex, Wis.) scored five points off the Phoenix bench and made two key free throws late, but the junior saw his school-record streak of 40 consecutive free throws come to an end in the first half. Cerroni is now 28-of-29 from the line this season.

Halfway through its four-game homestand, Green Bay returns to action on Thursday night, hosting Youngstown State on Thursday night at 7 p.m. The Phoenix will then welcome Cleveland State to the Resch Center on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.  

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