Jan. 21, 2002

MILWAUKEE - UWM's Clay Tucker has been named the Horizon League Player of the Week, the league office announced today.

Tucker hit one of the biggest shots of his career to beat Butler at the buzzer Saturday and cap off one of the best weeks in UWM basketball history. Tucker's three at Hinkle Fieldhouse gave UWM a 73-72 victory over the 25th-ranked Bulldogs, gaining the Panthers their first win ever at Butler and their first against the Bulldogs in their last 18 tries.

The shot was number-six on Chris Berman's "Top 10 Plays Of The Week" during ESPN's Sports Center Sunday night. It was the second game-winning buzzer-beater of Tucker's career. He beat Central Michigan with a three at the buzzer in his collegiate debut in 1999.

Tucker scored 24 points in the contest Saturday.

Thursday night in an overtime win at Wright State, Tucker collected his fourth double-double of the season with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Also Thursday night, Tucker became just the fourth player in UWM's Division I history to surpass 1,000 points in his career. Tucker currently stands third all-time in career points with 1,043.

On the season, Tucker leads UWM in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and blocked shots and has the Panthers off to their best league start in school history.

UWM (10-8, 5-1 Horizon League) has won a season-high three-straight games to claim second place in the league, one game behind first-place Loyola (11-5, 6-0). The Panthers return to action Thursday night, welcoming Cleveland State to the Klotsche Center for a 7 p.m. contest.