UW-MILWAUKEE STUNS BOSTON COLLEGE, ADVANCES TO SWEET SIXTEEN

March 19, 2005

CLEVELAND, Ohio (Ticker) -- On Thursday, UW-Milwaukee posted its first NCAA Tournament victory. Joah Tucker and Ed McCants figured they might as well stay a while.


Tucker scored 23 points and McCants added 18 as the 12th-seeded Panthers rallied from a big early deficit to stun No. 4 Boston College, 83-75, in a second-round thriller in the Chicago Region.


Adrian Tigert chipped in 16 points before fouling out in the final minute for UW-Milwaukee, which upset No. 5 Alabama on Thursday, 85-73. The Panthers (26-5) next face top-seeded Illinois in the regional semifinals.


The Eagles scored the first 11 points of the game but the Panthers roared back with a 28-10 run to take a seven-point lead with 7:39 left in the half. Boston College scored eight straight points but was outplayed thereafter the rest of the half, which ended with Wisconsin-Milwaukee ahead, 41-37.


The second half also featured many runs, with the Panthers going on a 10-2 burst to open a 65-58 advantage on a 3-pointer by Tucker with 8:35 left. Their edge was 72-67 before the Eagles scored eight of the next 10 points, taking a 75-74 lead on a pair of free throws by Jared Dudley with 1:46 remaining.


But reserve center James Wright - a 49 percent free-throw shooter - sank a pair from the line 14 seconds later to give Uw-Milwaukee the lead for good, and after a BC turnover, Tigert made a layup for a 78-75 edge with 51 seconds left.


Following a missed 3-pointer by the Eagles' Sean Marshall, Chris Hill made two free throws for a five-point cushion with 28 seconds to go. Marshall misfired on a pair from the line before Tucker split two for a six-point lead with 14.8 seconds left. After BC's Jermaine Watson missed a shot from the arc, Tucker iced it with two free throws.


Craig Smith scored 25 points and Dudley added 22, including 18-of-21 free throws, for the Eagles (25-5), who lost five of their last 10 games after a 20-0 start.