Jan. 5, 2010

Box Score

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Southern Illinois University Edwardsville kept the pressure late but ended up with a 10-point loss to the Milwaukee Panthers 83-73.

Aamir McCleary scored a team-high 18 points and recorded a career-high 10 assists to lead SIUE's offense. The Cougars were down by as much as 23 points in the second half but made their way back late in the game.

"We just dug ourselves a hole." said SIUE Coach Lennox Forrester. SIUE also was mired in foul trouble. Cody Rincker fouled out and three other Cougars finished with four fouls.

Milwaukee used a 48-29 rebounding advantage to gain 19 second-chance points. It was the bench for Milwaukee which came up big, providing 50 of the team's 83 points. Ricky Franklin, the game's leading scorer with 20 points, was the Panthers' only starter in double figures. Off the bench, Milwaukee's Ja'Rob McCallum scored 19 points while Jason Averkamp added 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Four players finished in double figures for SIUE. After McCleary's 18, Mark Yelovich scored 17 followed by 11 from Denykco Bowles and 10 from Nikola Bundalo.

SIUE's defense pushed Milwaukee late. A 17-5 run over a four-minute period of the second half cut the lead to eight points. SIUE picked up 20 points for the game off the Panthers' 16 turnovers.

"We did a good job pressing to help us get back into the game," said Forrester.

The Cougars now head to the road for the next three games. SIUE `s next action is at South Dakota Saturday with game time set for 7:30 p.m. All the action is available on KFNS 590 AM and WSIE FM 88.7. Joe Pott provides the call.

-siue cougars-