Milwaukee 69, Wright State 63: Kyle Kelm had 14 of his 20 points in the first half as the fifth-seeded Panthers upset the Raiders to win the Horizon League tournament title.
Kelm also had a game-high nine rebounds for Milwaukee (21-13), which won its fifth straight, including four in the tournament. Jordan Aaron added 18 points, including 4-of-8 shooting from 3-point range, while Austin Arians chipped in with 12.
AJ Pacher's 16 points paced Wright State (20-14), the No. 3 seed in the tournament, which shot 5-of-17 from 3-point range. Matt Vest added 11 points and Reggie Arceneaux contributed nine off the bench.
The Panthers jumped out on top from the start, opening up a 14-point lead with just over 10 minutes to play in the first half. The Raiders fought back to within five points twice in the closing minutes of the opening 20 but Milwaukee had the lead back to 10 by halftime, scoring 43 points, the most Wright State had given up in a first half since early December.
Wright State made things interesting by scoring 10 of the first 14 points of the second half to cut the lead to four but Milwaukee went on a 13-5 run to push the advantage back to 12 midway through the half. The lead was 13 with 8:10 to play when the Raiders held the Panthers scoreless for 4:25 to pull within seven and were within four with 1:03 to play before Milwaukee hit a pair of free throws to seal the victory.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Milwaukee became the first No. 5 seed to win the Horizon League tournament, and the first to win four games since the tournament switched to its current format. … The Panthers won the rebound battle 35-28 thanks in part to Malcolm Moore, who grabbed eight boards, including five on the offensive glass, off the bench. … Milwaukee will play in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006.
Wis.-Milwaukee | Wright St. | |
Kyle Kelm 20 | Scoring | A.J. Pacher 16 |
Steve McWhorter 7 | Assists | Matt Vest 4 |
Kyle Kelm 9 | Rebounds | Jerran Young 7 |
Kyle Kelm 8 | Free Throws Made | Chrishawn Hopkins 6 |
Jevon Lyle 1 | Steals | Reggie Arceneaux 1 |
Steve McWhorter 1 | Blocks | Jerran Young 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Wis.-Milwaukee | 69 | 38.6 | 9-18 | 16-18 | 12 | 32 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
Wright St. | 63 | 46.8 | 5-17 | 14-17 | 15 | 26 | 6 | 2 | 12 |