Dec. 30, 2006

Box Score

GREEN BAY, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay men's basketball team (8-6) rallied from an 11-point first-half deficit Saturday evening as five players scored double figures on its way to a 65-62 victory over Bowling Green in the title game of the Oneida Casino Holiday Classic.

Sophomore Terry Evans had 10 points and a career-high six steals in the win on his way to garnering Classic most valuable player honors. Mike Schachtner and Ryan Evanochko, who joined Evans on the all-tournament team, led the way with 12 points apiece.

Owning a slim 60-59 lead with just over a minute to play, Evanochko drained a three-pointer at the top of the arc to beat the shot clock buzzer and give the Phoenix a four-point lead that would be too much for the Falcons to overcome.

Bowling Green (9-4) put the clamps on the Phoenix in the first half, climbing out to an 11-point lead at one point, thanks to 63.6 percent shooting in the stanza.

But UW-Green Bay had the advantage of being in the bonus free throw situation with 12:52 to go in the first on the way to shooting 15-of-17 from the stripe for the half. Evanochko led with a 5-of-6 effort.

Trailing nine, 25-16, with 7:08 left in the first, UW-Green Bay rattled off a 15-4 run over the next four and a half minutes. On an offensive rebound and short jumper by Schachtner in the lane, UW-Green Bay took its first lead of the game with just under three minutes left.

From there, the lead changed nine times with nine ties, with neither team gaining a lead larger than a three-point lead until midway through the second half. That's when UW-Green Bay scored the next nine points, and on fast break layup by Evans with 5:23 to go, UW-Green Bay led by nine, 57-48.

But during that Phoenix run the squad suffered a setback when senior Josh Lawrence was fouled hard during a play in transition at 8:28 left in the game and did not return.

Bowling Green answered with a 7-0 run over the next minute and a half, fueled by five straight points by Samarco, to pull within two, 57-55, with 3:50 on the clock. The Falcons managed to get within one with slightly over a minute remaining, 60-59, before Evanochko's three-pointer.

Brian Moten scored a game-high 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting for Bowling Green which out-shot the Phoenix 51.1 percent to 33.3 percent in the contest.

UW-Green Bay returns to Horizon League action Tuesday when it hosts Detroit at 7:05 p.m.

All-Tournament Team
Terry Evans - UW-Green Bay (MVP)
Brian Moten - Bowling Green
Mike Schachtner - UW-Green Bay
Ryan Evanochko - UW-Green Bay
Tim Strom - Michigan Tech