By: Andrew Gavin (@GBGavin)
GreenBayPhoenix.com
GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com)
- With two Horizon League games remaining, the Green Bay men's basketball team (15-13,
9-5 HL) begins an important week at the Resch Center on Tuesday night, hosting
rival Milwaukee (8-22, 3-12 HL) at 7 p.m.
Green Bay saw its momentum halted slightly on Saturday at
Drake, but the Phoenix carries a three-game Horizon League winning streak into
its final two regular season contests. After starting the conference season at
0-2, Green Bay has won nine of its past 12 Horizon League games to sit in a tie
for third place in the standings.
The week begins with rival
Milwaukee, who despite sitting in last place in the league standings will visit
the Resch Center as one of the hottest teams in the league after back-to-back
wins over UIC and IUPUI. The first meeting on Jan. 25 marked the first road win
of the season for the Phoenix, who used an 18-2 run to break away from a 41-41
tie midway through the second
half en route to a 74-54 win.
Also in the first meeting,
Green Bay's All-Horizon League duo of Alec
Brown (Winona, Minn.) and Keifer
Sykes (Chicago, Ill.) outscored the Panthers 28-27 alone in the second
half. Brown scored 15 of his 23 points in the second half and went over 1,000
career points while Sykes tallied 13 of his 16 after the break. Sykes is averaging
20.3 points in three career games against Milwaukee.
FOLLOW THE
PHOENIX: Fans unable to make it to the Resch Center on Tuesday night will
be able to catch the game exclusively
on ESPN3. Will Haskett will provide the play-by-play with Joel Cornette alongside
as the analyst.
The contest against the Panthers will also be carried on
WDUZ The Fan 1400 AM and online at thefan1075.com.
The play-by-play voice of the Phoenix Matt Menzl will be on the call alongside Cordero
Barkley. Live stats will be available on GreenBayPhoenix.com.
You can also stay up-to-date by following @GBPhoenixMBB and @GBGavin on Twitter.
THREE-POINT PLAY
1. INSIDE THE SERIES: Green Bay now leads the
series against the Panthers, 27-21. The Phoenix has won 16 of the 23 games in
Green Bay but will be looking to avenge an 81-75 home loss to the Panthers on Feb.
4, 2012. The Phoenix win at the Klotsche Center in January improved Green Bay
to 10-13 in Milwaukee.
2. HOME SWEET HOME: The Phoenix is 10-2 at the
Resch Center in 2012-13, including 5-1 in Horizon League play. In the past
three seasons under head coach Brian
Wardle, Green Bay has a 32-8 record in 40 home games. Sykes is averaging
16.7 points and 5.1 assists per game in 12 home games this season, going
72-of-92 from the line. Green Bay is allowing just 56 points per game and
holding opponents to just 36.8 percent shooting. Led by Sykes, the Phoenix has
made 130 more free throws at home than its opponents (237-107).
3. TOP OF THE CLASS: Freshman Jordan Fouse (Racine, Wis.) is in the conversation for Newcomer of
the Year in the Horizon League. The stat stuffer leads the league in rebounding
(7.6) and is third in steals (1.6) and tied for third in blocks (1.4). On
Saturday, Fouse broke the program's freshman record for rebounds in a season, a
record which had stood since 1969-70, the program's first season.
PHOENIX NOTES
• COMEBACK TIME: Green Bay has shown the ability
to come back and handle adversity throughout the season. Most recently, the
Phoenix has overcome a second-half deficit in each of its past five victories.
The team has won its last four games following a loss, and ended a season-long
four-game losing streak by defeating Marquette 49-47 on Dec. 19.
• SECOND-HALF SYKES: Sykes, one of just two
Horizon League players to be named Player of the Week at least three times this
season, has excelled in the clutch. In wins over Cleveland State and YSU, he
scored 38 of his 47 points in the second half. He has scored 75 points after
halftime in the past five games. For the season, Sykes averages 9.1 points per
game after halftime.
• BLOCK PARTY: Brown has blocked 39 shots in
Horizon League play to become the fourth player in league history with more
than 200 career rejections. The 7-foot-1 Brown is third in Horizon League
history in blocks, behind only YSU's Damian Eargle (289) and Dan Godfread (226)
from Evansville. Brown's 52 blocks this season are the third-most all-time,
behind only his totals as a sophomore (89) and a freshman (67).
• REJECTIONS REGISTERED: With Brown (52), Fouse
(40), Mays (17) and Cougill (13) all in double figures in blocks, the Phoenix
has now swatted 137 shots on the season. That total is the second-most
all-time, behind only last season's 142 and in front of the third-best total in
program history, the 119 blocks in Brown's freshman season.
• ROOKIE RISING: Fouse has proven himself to be
one of the best rebounders and defenders in the Horizon League, but is also
making his mark on the Phoenix record book. The 6-foot-7 freshman has grabbed
213 rebounds to break the 44-year old freshman record, set by Dennis Woeffler
(209) in the program's first season, 1969-70. With 45 steals, Fouse trails only
Tony Bennett (49) and Terry Evans (50) for most by a Phoenix freshman. Finally,
Fouse's 40 blocks are the second-most by a Phoenix freshman (Alec Brown's 67 in
2010-11) and tied for the eighth-highest single-season total in team history.
• DEFEND THE HORIZON: The Phoenix has been among
the league's best rebounding and defensive teams in league play. Through 14
games, Green Bay leads in field goal percentage defense (.383), rebounding
margin (+6.2) and blocked shots (6.0) and is second in scoring defense (60.1).
In its nine league wins, the Phoenix has not allowed more than 63 points and
has a scoring defense of 54.6. Four league opponents have had their lowest
scoring outing of conference play against the Phoenix (Detroit, Youngstown
State, UIC and Loyola).
#
Single-game tickets for all Phoenix home games are on
sale with the Green Bay Athletics Ticket Office. For more information and to
order tickets, please call 920.465.2625, visit the athletics department offices
in the Kress Events Center or access GreenBayPhoenix.com/tickets.
For the latest and most up-to-date information on Green
Bay Athletics, please visit GreenBayPhoenix.com.
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