GREEN BAY, Wis. – The 2023-24 season came to a close for the Green Bay men's basketball team on Thursday night, as the Phoenix fell in the Horizon League Quarterfinals to the No. 6 seed Milwaukee Panthers, 95-84.
Noah Reynolds left everything on the floor, returning from a lower leg injury that kept him out two weeks to score 27 points, dish out six assists, and grabbing three rebounds. Rich Byhre also had a good night, scoring a season-high 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor. Preston Ruedinger finished with 17 points, three assists, and three rebounds.
BJ Freeman led the way for the Panthers, scoring 32 points to go with eight rebounds and five assists. Milwaukee attacked the paint in the game, outscoring the Phoenix 54-36 on the night.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Green Bay held an early 5-3 advantage when Milwaukee used an 8-0 to grab an 11-5 lead before the media timeout. That run set the table for the half, as the Phoenix battled to take back the lead, but the Panthers entered halftime up 39-35.
However, Green Bay came out firing on all cylinders to start the second half, going on an 8-0 run, finished off by Reynolds' layup, to seize a 43-39 lead two minutes into the second half. Milwaukee responded with a 5-0 spurt to take a 44-43 lead a minute later. The two teams traded baskets for the next five minutes, as Ruedinger hit a wing three with 12:46 to go to tie the game at 54 all. The next three minutes were all Panthers, as MKE went on a 13-0 run to take firm control of the contest. GB battled to cut into the deficit, but the visitors maintained around a 10-point cushion en route to the 95-84 win.
GAME NOTES
» Milwaukee slightly outrebounded Green Bay 39-35.
» Noah Reynolds, Rich Byhre, and Preston Ruedinger combined to account for 75 percent of GB's points.
» Neither team shot well from deep, with Green Bay finishing 25.8 percent from deep to Milwaukee's 28.6 percent. MKE shot 52.5 percent from the floor while GB shot 42.6 percent.
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