Jan. 6, 2007

Box Score

GREEN BAY, Wis. - University of Wisconsin-Green Bay men's basketball coach Tod Kowalczyk could be a rich man. If anyone could get a hold of the halftime speech he gave to his Phoenix squad Saturday, coaches everywhere would be willing to play top dollar with the results that ensued. After UW-Green Bay fell behind 44-31 to Cleveland State at the break, the Phoenix put forth a remarkable turn of events in the second half, limiting the Vikings to a mere nine points in earning a stunning 65-53 victory at the Resch Center.

"We didn't change any matchups, we just talked about having some better ball pressure," Kowalczyk said of any adjustments made at the half.

"It was the energy that the guys played with. The ball pressure that started with Ryan Evanochko and then went to Terry Evans and from Terry Evans to Ryan Tillema. Then we got every key rebound coming down the stretch. That, to me, was a huge key."

Mike Schachtner paced the Phoenix (9-7, 1-2 Horizon League) with 31 points on 11-of-17 shooting while Josh Lawrence posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Terry Evans contributed a solid all-around performance, recording 7 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 blocked shots.

A lay-up by Joe Davis with 12.9 seconds remaining in the contest prevented Cleveland State (6-11, 0-4) from being a dubious part of history. The record for fewest points scored by a team in a half since the inception of the shot clock in 1986 is 7 by Central Michigan in the first half of its game against Ohio Jan. 14, 2006. It also gave the Vikings three made field goals in the half, one more than Central Michigan's record for futility set in the same contest.

The first half was a completely different story than the second Saturday night. Cleveland State shot lights-out before the intermission, connecting on 17 of 26 attempts for 65.4 percent and a resulting a 13-point advantage. The Vikings stormed out to a 30-18 lead before the Phoenix rallied to get within six at 37-31. However, Cleveland State used a 7-0 run over the final 2 minutes and 17 seconds of the half to go ahead 44-31.

UW-Green Bay would rally back, though, thanks to a staunch defensive effort. The Phoenix would hold the Vikings scoreless over the opening 11 minutes and 21 seconds of the second half in rallying to tie the game at 44 apiece. After the Phoenix knotted the score at the 13:51 mark, neither team scored until J'Nathan Bullock finally got Cleveland State on the board with a three-point play with 8:39 to go.

Back-to-back dunks by Lawrence and Schachtner finally gave UW-Green Bay its first lead of the game at 48-47 with 7:53 remaining, kick-starting a 13-3 run by the hosts that eventually put them ahead 57-50 with 2:42 left. Cleveland State would manage just a free throw by Davis in addition to his lay-up in the closing seconds the rest of the way.

In all, the Vikings finished 3 of 20 from the floor (15.0 percent) in the second half. Bullock scored 15 of his team-high 19 points in the opening 20 minutes of play. He connected on just one of seven field goal attempts after the break after making all six shots in the first half.

The Phoenix held a 33-21 advantage on the boards and out-shot Cleveland State 45.8 percent to 43.5 percent.

UW-Green Bay returns to action at 6:05 p.m. Central time Thursday when it travels to Youngstown State.