Panthers Drop Heartbreaker To Raiders
Feb. 2, 2008 DAYTON, Ohio - Vaughn Duggins scored on a driving bank shot with 0.4 seconds remaining to send Wright State to a 53-51 win over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Saturday night at the Nutter Center. The Panthers (12-10, 7-5 Horizon) trailed by as many as seven in the second half but tied the game on a Marcus Skinner tip-in with just under 11 seconds to play. But, the Raiders (14-6, 7-4) pushed the ball back up the floor before Duggins eventually drove inside and converted the game-winner. Skinner led Milwaukee with 16 points but was the only Panther player in double figures. Duggins led Wright State with 17 points. "I thought it was two teams that battled and really fought," UWM head coach Rob Jeter said. "I thought the difference was our inability, for whatever reason, to get to the free throw line. To win on the road you have to get to the free throw line and we did not do that." Wright State used a 17-3 run early in the second half to turn a 35-28 deficit into a 45-38 advantage with 11:43 to play. The Panthers fought back, pulling within 45-44 with 8:52 remaining and again within 50-49 on a basket by Skinner with 3:02 remaining. Then, the Raiders eventually pushed the lead to 51-49 on a single Scottie Wilson free throw with 1:01 remaining. From there, UWM turned the ball over after a scramble, with an attempted timeout from the Panther bench denied by a traveling call. Then, after Troy Tabler missed the front end of a one-and-one with 32 seconds left, Ricky Franklin missed a shot but UWM retained possession. Off the inbounds play, another Franklin miss led to the Skinner tip-in and the Duggins heroics. "The shots they made in the second half were contested," Jeter said. "I am pleased with the effort. I'm not pleased with the outcome but pleased with the effort."
The Panthers led most of the way in the first half. After jumping out to a 10-5 lead, UWM saw Wright State rally to tie the game at 12 with 14:08 remaining. Milwaukee struck back, though, scoring eight of the next 10 points to build a 20-14 advantage with just over nine minutes remaining. UWM still led 24-19 at the four minute mark and carried a 31-28 lead into halftime. UWM will have more than a week off before returning to action Tues., Feb. 12. The Panthers will host nationally-ranked Butler in a 6 p.m. contest at the U.S. Cellular Arena. The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU. |
