By: Andrew Gavin (@GBGavin)
GreenBayPhoenix.com
GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com)
- Just over a month after the first meeting, the story was pretty similar for the Green Bay men's
basketball team against rival Milwaukee. An impressive run to blow open a close
game, a career game from junior Alec
Brown (Winona, Minn.) and a strong second half from sophomore Keifer Sykes (Chicago, Ill.). This
time, however, Brown and Sykes had some help, Phoenix fans got to see it from
up close, and the win moved Green Bay to third place in the league standings.
Brown made 10-of-12 shots, including four of his five
shots from long range, and scored a career-high 28 points on Tuesday night at the
Resch Center, propelling Green Bay (16-13, 10-5 HL) to a 78-61 victory over visiting
Milwaukee (8-23, 3-13 HL) in Horizon League play. It was the fourth-straight
conference win for the Phoenix, who after a Wright State loss on Tuesday will
enter Saturday's season finale against league champion Valparaiso at 2 p.m. alone
in third place.
The 7-foor-1 Brown had 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting in
the first half as Green Bay went into halftime in front 32-16. After Milwaukee trimmed
a double-digit deficit to 57-52 midway through the second half, Brown drained
two triples and scored eight points as part of a 15-1 run that turned a close game
into a rout (72-53).
In the first meeting between the two teams, Brown had a
then career-high 23 points and Green Bay pulled away with a second-half run for
a 20-point (74-54) win on Jan. 25 at Milwaukee. The junior totaled 51 points,
16 rebounds and six blocks in the series sweep.
Sykes added 11 of his 18 points after halftime and
finished with 18 points and six assists, putting an exclamation point on the
win with a late dunk which gave Green Bay its biggest lead of the night
(78-58). He made all seven of his free throws as the Phoenix went 14-of-16 from
the line.
The All-Horizon League duo of Brown and Sykes had some
help in the second half, with sophomore Greg
Mays (Chicago, Ill.) scoring 11 of his 15 points and junior Sultan Muhammad (Grand Rapids, Mich.) tallying
all eight of his points. Mays finished with 15 points and eight rebounds as the
Phoenix held a 36-25 advantage on the glass.
Freshman Jordan
Fouse (Racine, Wis.) scored just three points but was stuffing the stat
sheet again. The 6-foot-7 wing was the third Phoenix player with eight rebounds
and also added five assists, five steals and two blocked shots. Fouse now has
50 steals on the season, tying Terry Evans for the program freshman record.
Milwaukee shot just 37.5 percent from the field (18-48)
and was held to only 4-of-17 shooting from long range (23.5%). Green Bay was
29-of-55 from the field and made 6-of-12 from long range.
With five blocks on the night, three from Brown and two from
Fouse, Green Bay tied its program record for blocks in a season at 142,
originally set last season.
Saturday's game against Valparaiso will also be Senior
Day at the Resch Center, with Green Bay honoring lone senior Brennan Cougill (Sioux City, Iowa). The
first 1,000 fans in attendance for the 2 p.m. game will receive a complimentary
Cougill bobblehead.
#
Single-game tickets for all Phoenix home games are on
sale with the Green Bay Athletics Ticket Office. For more information and to
order tickets, please call 920.465.2625, visit the athletics department offices
in the Kress Events Center or access GreenBayPhoenix.com/tickets.
For the latest and most up-to-date information on Green
Bay Athletics, please visit GreenBayPhoenix.com.
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