Feb. 16, 2001

FAIRBORN, Ohio - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's basketball team wraps-up its two-game road trip Saturday in Dayton against Wright State. Tipoff is set for 11:05 a.m. CST.

Team Updates: UWM lost a heartbreaking 80-75 overtime decision at Butler Thursday night. Wright State beat UW-Green Bay 67-48 Thursday.

On TV: Saturday's game can be seen in Milwaukee on CBS-58. Pregame coverage begins at 11 a.m. Dwayne Mosley will call the play-by-play, with Jason Clark providing analysis.

On The Radio: The game can be heard on 1340 AM, WJYI, in the Milwaukee area. Due to programming conflicts, the radio broadcast will be joined in progress at 12 p.m. But, fans in Milwaukee and across the country can listen to the entire game on the officially-sanctioned website of UWM Athletics, www.uwmpanthers.com. The internet broadcast begins at 11 a.m. CST. Bill Johnson will call the play-by-play.

The Head Coach: Bo Ryan (Wilkes College, `69) is in his second season as the head coach at Milwaukee. His record at the school is 28-25, and his overall collegiate head coaching record is 381-101. Last year, Ryan led the Panthers to a 15-14 mark - their best in seven seasons - and a trip to the MCC Semifinals for the first time ever.

Ryan's Background: Prior to coming to Milwaukee, the head coach spent 15 stellar seasons at UW-Platteville. At Platteville, Ryan - the winningest coach in NCAA Division III history - led the Pioneers to four NCAA Division III National Championships and eight conference championships. Ryan led Platteville to the NCAA Tournament every year once the Pioneers moved to the ranks of the NCAA for the 1990-91 season. Ryan has also won gold medals at the 1993 U.S. Olympic Festival and 1995 World University Games. The Chester, Pa., native also spent eight seasons at the University of Wisconsin under Bill Cofield and Steve Yoder, and has worked at the College of Racine in Wisconsin, and at Sun Valley High School in Philadelphia.

Inside The Butler Game: UWM nearly knocked off first-place Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse before falling 80-75 in overtime. The Panthers dug themselves an early 12-0 hole, but recovered in time to trail by just two at halftime. UWM then led by as many as scven in the second half, and by four with 1:07 remaining before Butler rallied. Jason Frederick scored 19 points and Chad Angeli added 13 for the Panthers.

Earlier This Season: UWM outscored Wright State 34-21 in the second half en route to a 56-43 win over the Raiders Jan. 18 at the Klotsche Center. The Panthers limited Wright St. to just 37 percent shooting in the second half, and forced 18 Raider turnovers.

Wright State Series History: Wright State holds an 11-9 edge in the all-time series against UWM. Bo Ryan is 2-1 against Wright State. UWM's last win at Wright State came Jan. 22, 1998, when the Panthers scored a 70-62 win.

Last Year's Matchups: Wright State scored a 67-60 win over UWM in Dayton during January of last year behind 24 points from Kevin Melson. The Panthers then bounced back to grab an 81-67 victory in Milwaukee in February behind 23 points and seven rebounds from Chad Angeli, In that second contest, UWM led 45-20 at halftime.

Raiders Scouting Report: The home court has been kind to Wright State this season, and the Raiders are hoping to ride that wave into the conference tournament, which will be played on their home floor. After a 67-48 win over UW-Green Bay Thursday night, the Raiders have now won 12 of 14 at home this season, with losses to Detroit and Morehead State. Israel Sheinfeld and Kevin Melson continue to lead the Raiders, with each averaging about 16 points per game. Wright State has shot well from the field all year, converting on 48 percent of its field goal attempts. The Raiders also outrebound their opponents on the season, and in fact the only obvious statistical problem Wright State has had is in the turnover column, where the Raiders average 17 turnovers per game.

Working Overtime: For the fourth time this season, UWM went into overtime Thursday night. The Panthers have played a school-record eight overtime periods, including the amazing four-overtime game at UIC Jan. 11. The four overtime games are a school-record for one season. Twice previously, UWM had played three overtime games in one season. UWM is 1-3 in overtime games.

Finding Frederick: After a quiet stretch of games offensively, Jason Frederick has found his scoring touch four nights in a row. Thursday night, the sophomore led the team with 19 points and added six rebounds in 33 minutes off the bench. In the last four games, Frederick is averaging 17.2 ppg, converting on 23-of-42 field goal tries, including 12-of-22 from three-point range. This stretch has also included a perfect shooting game from Frederick. Against UIC last Saturday, Frederick made 5-of-5 from the field, including 2-of-2 from beyond the arc, as well as 5-of-5 from the foul line. Frederick leads UWM in scoring during MCC play, averaging 12.5 ppg. He has also scored at least 20 points in three MCC games this season.

Turning The Page: Freshman Dylan Page has started to see consistent playing time off the bench for UWM, and he is responding. Thursday night, Page contributed six points - including the first two three-point shots of his career - in 15 minutes of play. Last Saturday against UIC, Page scored a career-high eight points and grabbed three rebounds in 10 minutes. Page missed much of the middle of the season with a stress fracture in his foot, and has now played in 12 games this season.

The Best For Butler: Sophomore Justin Lettenberger has been a thorn in the side of Butler this season. Thursday night, the walk-on recorded career-highs in rebounds (10) and assists (4). Jan. 20, Lettenberger made his first career start against the Bulldogs and tallied 11 points - a career-high - and six rebounds. In total, Lettenberger started three games in the absence of James Wright, and has now appeared in 21 of the Panthers' 24 games this season. Since returning to his role off the bench, Lettenberger has been a consistent contributor, averaging nearly four points and over five rebounds per game in the last two contests. Earlier this season, Lettenberger also posted big numbers against UWM's three Big 10 opponents. when he averaged 5.3 ppg and 5.3 rpg, while playing 17 minutes per game.

Off The Bench: UWM's bench continues to provide consistent contributions. Thursday night against Butler, the reserves added 37 points and 17 rebounds. That added to a strong run of bench performances over the last four games. Last Saturday night against UIC, UWM's bench pitched-in with 36 points and 15 rebounds. Feb. 8 against Loyola, Jason Frederick and Ronnie Jones scored 13 points apiece, and in total the bench contributed 29 points and 16 rebounds. Feb. 3 against Green Bay, the bench pitched-in with 32 points. 11 times this season the bench has pitched-in with at least 25 points, including 56 points against Mt. Senario and 48 points in the second contest with San Diego.

Keep The Basketball: UWM continues to take good care of the basketball, bouncing back from a 17-turnover performance against UIC on Saturday. Thursday night, the Panthers committed just eight turnovers, equaling their second-best performance of the season. Point guard Dan Weisse has played without a turnover in eight games this year, and on the season has 58 assists compared to just 30 turnovers in 24 games. As a team, the Panthers average just over 11 turnovers per game, and have a 1.2 assist-to-turnover ratio, which has ranked at or near the top of the MCC all season long.

Start Me Up: Chad Angeli will make his 108th career start Saturday against Wright State, placing him fourth on the all-time appearance list at UWM. Against the Raiders Jan. 18, Angeli became the ninth player in UWM history to appear in at least 100 games. In fact, Angeli has never missed a game or a start since coming to UWM at the start of the 1997-98 season. The Wausau native started 27 games in both the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons, and 29 games a season ago. Maurice Turner tops the all-time appearance list at UWM, playing in 112 games from 1986-89.

Movin' On Up: Chad Angeli scored 13 points Thursday night, and now has 1,377 for his career. That places him in sixth place all-time on the UWM scoring list. Angeli is already UWM's career-leader in field goal percentage and free throws made, and is eigth all-time in career rebounding.

Static Starters: With the return of James Wright, UWM has returned to the starting lineup it used for the first 17 games of the season. Justin Lettenberger earned the start in the three games Wright missed because of injury, while Dan Weisse, Kalombo Kadima, Clay Tucker and Chad Angeli have started every game this season.

Shoot `Em Up: UWM shot nearly 48 percent from the field last Saturday against UIC, the fifth-best shooting performance of the season for the Panthers. They have shot better than 50 percent from the field only two times this season - doing it against Green Bay Feb. 3 and against Mt. Senario Dec. 27. But, the Panthers have shown they don't need to shoot lights-out to win. UWM has won 11 times this season when shooting under 50 percent, including three wins when the Panthers have shot less than 40 percent from the field. Against Loyola, UWM claimed the victory despite shooting just 35 percent from the field, and only 26 percent in the second half.

Shoot The `3': UWM remains on pace to match last year's school-record 701 attempts from three-point range. The Panthers made 256 three-point tries last year, another record in some jeopardy this season, with UWM already connecting on 206 three-point attempts. And, despite enduring a handful of long shooting nights - UW-Green Bay (7-of-30) and Cleveland State (1-of-19), for example - the Panthers are still connecting on better than 35 percent of their three-point tries, just off last year's pace of 36 percent.

Doing It On Defense: Though UWM gave up 80 points Thursday night, the Panthers have become a solid defensive team. Butler did have just 64 points in regulation, and UWM limited the Bulldogs to under 40 percent shooting in the second half and overtime. Last Saturday against UIC, UWM gave up under 50 points for the second time in league play - the first time ever UWM has held two MCC opponents under 50 points in a game during the regular season. The Panthers have also held their opponents to 60 points or less in seven of their last nine games. Overall, UWM seems to be catching on to Bo Ryan's preachings about defense. The 43 points UWM gave up Jan. 18 vs. Wright State is the second-lowest total UWM has ever given up in an MCC game - only the 42-point performance against UW-Green Bay last year is better. Also, if you throw out the seven overtime periods UWM has endured in MCC play, the Panthers allow under 60 points per game in league games. Perhaps most impressive, though, is the dramatic improvement the Panthers have made since last season. Opponents shot more than 49 percent from the field against UWM a year ago, including more than 50 percent in MCC games. This season, the Panthers allow under 64 points per game, and have limited opponents to under 43 percent shooting from the field.

Windy City Defensive Highlights: Along with the 49 points UWM gave up last Saturday night against UIC, there were plenty of other defensive highlights in the Panthers' weekend sweep of the MCC's two Chicago teams. UWM recorded 12 steals Thursday night against Loyola, marking the second-highest single-game total this season. UWM recorded 20 steals against Mt. Senario Dec. 27, and also had 12 against Chicago State Dec. 4. The Panthers had eight more steals Saturday night, including five by Clay Tucker. The sophomore now leads the team with 28 steals. UWM held UIC to under 33 percent shooting from the field, the lowest field goal percentage for an MCC opponent this season. The Panthers have held two non-conference opponents to lower percentages - San Diego shot just 31.8 percent Dec. 23, while Mt. Senario shot just 18.9 percent Dec. 27.

Block Party: James Wright recorded two more blocks Thursday night against Butler, giving him 30 for the season. Wright is quickly moving up UWM's single-season blocks list. His 30 put him seventh all-time, and three more will put him in the top five. Al Walker holds the single-season record with 46 blocks during the 1977-78 campaign, and Craig Greene is the school's all-time block leader with 99. Wright will likely enter the all-time top ten list by the end of the season.

The Wright Stuff: The return of James Wright to the Panther lineup has been apparent in all areas since he appeared in the Feb. 3 game against Green Bay. But, Wright's presence can be especially apparent on the boards. Last Saturday against UIC, Wright's eight rebounds helped the Panthers to a 39-24 edge on the boards, including a 22-5 advantage in the second half. Thursday, Wright had two of UWM's 17 offensive rebounds. Those 17 offensive boards are one of the better peformances of the season on the offensive glass for UWM. The Panthers grabbed 19 offensive boards against Mt. Senario, and grabbed 18 boards two other times.

Leading With Youth: Clay Tucker is on pace to be UWM's leading scorer this season. If he does, he'll become the second UWM sophomore in three years to lead the team. Chad Angeli led UWM in scoring as a sophomore, averaging 14.9 ppg during the 1998-99 campaign. Meanwhile, James Wright is on pace to lead the team in rebounding as a freshman. If he does, Wright will become the first Panther freshman to lead the team in rebounding since Roderick Johnson averaged 7.1 rpg during the 1995-96 season.

UWM On TV: Saturday is the eighth appearance on television for UWM this season, and every Panther game from here on out will be on TV. UWM and CBS-58 have formalized a deal for this season that lands the Panthers on CBS-58 or TV-41 six times during the regular season, and gives the two stations the local TV rights to the MCC Tournament. CBS-58 is also the home of "The Bo Ryan Show," which airs Sunday nights at 10:30 p.m.

Non-Conference Strength Of Schedule: The record of the five teams UWM lost to during the non-conference season entering this week was 79-35, and three of UWM's non-conference opponents are in the top 20 of the latest RPI ranking. Illinois is sixth, Wisconsin is 12th, and Iowa is 18th.

Taking The Lead: UWM has held a second-half lead in eight of its 11 losses, and while never taking the lead, UWM tied their game with Wisconsin in the second half. The only other games in which the Panthers did not lead in the second half were contests at Illinois and Cleveland State. UWM has led at halftime in 18 of its 24 contests.

The Attendance Game: In an odd numerical quirk, the attendance for the game with Butler at the Klotsche Center and the game with the Bulldogs Thursday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse was exactly the same - 4,234.

Packed To The Rafters: Fans are responding to the efforts and success of Panther basketball. UWM is now averaging 3,144 fans per game, on pace to shatter every season attendance record in UWM history. In all, 31,437 fans have witnessed Panther basketball at the Klotsche Center this year. UWM will surpass the all-time total season attendance record of 33,977 Feb. 22 against Cleveland State. Four times this season, more than 4,000 fans have filled the Klotsche Center for a game, a first for UWM in its basketball history.

Double Your Fun: Three Panthers have recorded double-doubles this season, with Chad Angeli's 12 points and 10 rebounds against Cleveland State Jan. 27 marking the most recent one. Earlier this season, James Wright scored 18 points and added 15 rebounds against UIC, while Clay Tucker scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds against Colorado.

Record Breakers And Firsts: UWM has had some memorable and record-breaking performances this season. The four-OT game at UIC in January is the longest game in school history and league history. And, when UWM played two more overtimes in its next outing against Loyola, it marked the first time the Panthers have played back-to-back overtime games since the 1977-78 season, and the first time in school history UWM has played back-to-back multiple overtime contests. No MCC team has ever played back-to-back multi-OT games in league play. Also in that four-OT game, UWM set a school record and tied a league record by making 18 three-point shots, and the Panthers also tied a school-record by attempting 41 three-point shots. Plus, the 106 points UWM scored are the most since a 110-106 double-overtime loss at Sacramento State Jan. 9, 1992. The 1991-92 season was also the last time UWM reached triple digits in more than one game.

Yes, There Are More Broken Records: The Panthers have had two other record-setting performances this season. Against Mt. Senario Dec. 27, UWM set a new record for victory margin in the 100-21 win. Also, the 21 points given up were the fewest since a 28-21 win over Carroll College in 1940. Then at San Diego Jan. 2, the Panthers shot 72 percent from beyond the arc, setting a new school record for three-point efficiency, breaking the mark set a year ago against Michigan Tech.

The Next Class Of Panthers: UWM signed three players to national letters of intent during the November signing period. Oshkosh West's Adrian Tigert is a 6-foot-8 forward who earned all-Fox Valley Association and all-state honors following his junior year. He was a pre-season all-state selection before this season. Reedsburg's Clayton Hanson is a 6-foot-4 all-state guard. This season, Hanson is Reedsburg's all-time leading scorer, and this past summer was a second-team All-American at the AAU Nationals. The third member of the class is point guard Chris Hill from Whitney Young in Chicago, Ill. Young was nationally-ranked to begin the season, and is again picked to contend for the Chicago Public League championship and an Illinois state championship.

Up Next: UWM returns home, welcoming Cleveland State to the Klotsche Center Thursday night. Tipoff is set for 7:05 p.m., and the game can be seen on TV-41 in Milwaukee