Nov. 11, 2009

Game #1 Concordia-St. Paul (13-15 in 2008-09)
@
Milwaukee (17-14 in 2008-09)
Fri., Nov. 13 • 7 pm CST
U.S. Cellular Arena • Milwaukee, Wis.

Printable Game Notes

The Short List
• UWM opens the 2009-10 season by welcoming Concordia-St. Paul to the U.S. Cellular Arena Friday night.

• The Panthers were picked to finish fourth in the Horizon League's official preseason poll, while other preseason publications have picked Milwaukee as high as #2.

• Seniors Tone Boyle and James Eayrs were each named to the preseason All-Horizon League Second Team. Both players were on the all-newcomer team a season ago, while Boyle also earned a spot on the all-league second team.

• Milwaukee won a pair of exhibition games last week, beating Cardinal Stritch, 74-72, last Wednesday before knocking off UW-Parkside, 63-50, Saturday night.

• Ricky Franklin was cleared academically and played Saturday, but Boyle missed both exhibition games with a back injury. UWM used 15 different players in the two games.

On The Air
UWM men's basketball airs live on WISN (AM 1130) in Milwaukee, with Bill Johnson on the call. Pregame coverage starts 15 minutes before tipoff. All home games also include "Panthers Extra ... live from Major Goolsby's." The postgame show, with hosts Bob Brainerd and Adrian Tigert, follows the game broadcast.

Ticket Time
Tickets for all UWM home games are priced at $20, $15 and $10 and are available through Ticketmaster or at the U.S. Cellular Arena on the day of a game. As always, UWM students are admitted free with a valid ID.

• Game #1
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's basketball team opens the 2009-10 season by welcoming Concordia-St. Paul to the U.S. Cellular Arena.

• The 4-1-1 On The CU Series
UWM and Concordia-St. Paul will be meeting for the third time when they get together Friday night. The Panthers knocked off the Golden Bears, 77-63, at the Klotsche Center in 2001 before beating them, 90-62, at Klotsche in 2003.

• For Openers
UWM is 8-3 in its last 11 season openers overall, with a closer look at the record showing the Panthers don't usually shy away from early-season challenges. In fact, those three losses have come to Iowa (2000-01), Wisconsin (2002-03) and Memphis (2005-06). Since Milwaukee returned to the Division I ranks in 1990, the Panthers are 11-8 in season openers. Meanwhile, UWM is 16-3 in home openers since 1990, including 9-2 in home openers at The Cell. Rob Jeter is 4-0 in home openers and 3-1 in season openers overall as the head coach of the Panthers.

• Exhibition #1
James Eayrs scored 20 points and added 10 rebounds as an injury-depleted UWM team held on for a 74-72 win over Cardinal Stritch Nov. 4 at the U.S. Cellular Arena. Milwaukee played without senior guards Tone Boyle and Ricky Franklin but used strong play on the interior to escape. Jason Averkamp added 11 points and the Panthers scored 21 points from the foul line. Juniors Deonte Roberts and Jerard Ajami earned starts in the backcourt and combined for 15 points and 12 rebounds. Still, Milwaukee turned the ball over 22 times and had a hard time slowing the perimeter attack of Cardinal Stritch.

• Exhibition #2
Ricky Franklin scored 21 points to go with six assists and six rebounds as UWM wrapped up exhibition play with a 63-50 win over UW-Parkside Nov. 7 at the U.S. Cellular Arena. The Panthers led by as many as 17 points in the second half as Milwaukee used 15 different players in the contest. James Eayrs was the other UWM player in double figures with 11 points, while Jason Averkamp added nine off the bench. Both teams shot just 33 percent for the game but Milwaukee made 10 three-pointers and outscored the Rangers, 17-8, from the foul line.

• One In, One Out
The Panthers played without a pair of senior guards in their exhibition win over Cardinal Stritch, as Tone Boyle and Ricky Franklin were both sidelined by injury. Franklin, though, was officially cleared academically last week and returned to action for Saturday's win over Parkside. But, Boyle sat out the exhibition season and his status for the season opener has not yet been determined.

• Learning About The New Ones
With some injuries in the backcourt and with a few fresh faces fighting for time in the frontcourt, the Panthers all of a sudden have a lot of players getting their first taste of Division I basketball. Jerard Ajami was in the starting lineup for each exhibition game and played 36 minutes in the win over Cardinal Stritch. True freshman Lonnie Boga looks to be on the verge of locking down a spot in the rotation after averaging 5.5 points and 4.0 rebounds during exhibition play. Plus, redshirt freshman Patrick Souter has earned extensive time at the backup point-guard position. Redshirt Riley Walker, JUCO transfer Michael Tyler and true freshman Ja'Rob McCallum also appear to have a chance at cracking the regular rotation.

• As Expected
The Panthers showed off their interior superiority in each of their two exhibition wins. UWM wound up outrebounding its opponents by more than 16 boards per game and also turned that inside edge into a large number of free throw attempts. UWM wound up 38-for-56 from the line in the two games, doubling up the number of attempts (28) for its opponents.

• Home Cooking
UWM has experienced plenty of success at the U.S. Cellular Arena in recent seasons. Milwaukee went 12-3 at home last year and is now 64-23 in regular season and postseason contests at The Cell since its return in 2002-03. Even better, if you combine games at both the Klotsche Center and The Cell, UWM is 65-15 in regular season Horizon League home contests over the last 10 seasons.

• Still Another Year
The Panthers will take the court for the 2009-10 season with experience on their side. In fact, with Ricky Franklin now on board for another season in Milwaukee, the Panthers return 80 percent of their scoring from a season ago. In all, six of UWM's top seven scorers are back, including seniors Tone Boyle and James Eayrs. Other returnees include seniors Burleigh Porte and Jason Averkamp, juniors Deonte Roberts and Anthony Hill and sophomore Tony Meier.

• Having Patiently Waited ...
The 2009-10 season sees four players join the active roster after sitting out the 2008-09 campaign. Jerard Ajami had to sit after transferring from Northern Michigan, while Ryan Haggerty, Riley Walker and Patrick Souter all redshirted as true freshmen last season.

• And The Truly New Faces
UWM's roster includes four new players who are eligible for game action in 2009-10, and two more who will have to sit out after transferring this off-season. The oldest of those eligible this season is junior-college transfer Michael Tyler, a Milwaukee native who collected 22 double-doubles at Pratt Community College last year. Meanwhile, Ja'Rob McCallum and Lonnie Boga join the Panthers as true freshman. McCallum comes to Milwaukee from Marion, Ind., while Lonnie Boga starred at McCluer High School in Florissant, Mo. Quinton Gustavson is also on the roster as a walk-on true freshman, while Mitchell Carter (South Carolina) and Christian Wolf (Florida Gulf Coast) will sit out this season due to NCAA transfer regulations.

• Picking The Winner
UWM has been picked to finish fourth in the Horizon League this season, according to a poll of the league's coaches, sports information directors and media members. Milwaukee received 314 points, falling just behind Cleveland State, which reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season. As expected, Butler was the clear favorite in the poll, with the Bulldogs securing 43 of the 46 first-place votes and 455 total points. Butler returns every player from last year's regular-season championship squad. Wright State earned the second spot in the poll, collecting 398 points. The rest of the poll finds Green Bay picked fifth (273 points), Detroit sixth (209) and Youngstown State seventh (197). Valparaiso (137), UIC (126) and Loyola (97) round out the rankings.

• "Official" Preseason Honors
Two UWM players earned spots on the Horizon League's Preseason All-League Team. Seniors Tone Boyle and James Eayrs were each placed on the second team in voting by the league's coaches, sports information directors and media members.

Tone Boyle led the Panthers in scoring and three-pointers made a season ago, earning a spot on the All-Horizon League Second Team as well as on the league's all-newcomer team. He wound up averaging 13.2 points per game and shot 36 percent from three-point range, numbers that actually dipped late in the season while he battled a back injury. He was also the team leader in minutes played, averaging over 35.5 minutes per contest.

James Eayrs averaged better than 13 points per game in league play, claiming a spot on the league's all-newcomer team. He played in all 31 games a season ago, starting the final nine contests of the year. He reached double figures in points 17 times and had three double-doubles, averaging nearly 16 points per game as a starter. The 6-foot-7, 310-pounder also wound up making 44 three-pointers while tying for third on the team with 23 steals.

• Sketching Out The Slate
At least eight games against teams that played in the NCAA Tournament a year ago highlight the 2009-2010 UWM schedule. In non-league play, the Panthers know they will play NCAA qualifier Western Kentucky in the NIT Season Tipoff before also facing regular dates with Marquette and Wisconsin. Road games with NCAA qualifier North Dakota State and NIT qualifier Bowling Green also dot the schedule. In league action, UWM plays two home games in early December but will go to Butler Jan. 2. The Panthers' home league slate is highlighted by visits from Green Bay (Jan. 9), Butler (Jan. 31) and Cleveland State (Feb. 18).

• More On The NIT
UWM will face Western Kentucky in its first game of the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off. The Panthers and Hilltoppers will play Nov. 16 in Baton Rouge, La., as part of the South Regional.Louisiana State is the host for the regional, with the Tigers taking on Indiana State in the site's other first round game. The winners and losers square off the following day. Milwaukee knows it will play a total of four games in the event. If UWM can win twice in Baton Rouge, it would advance to the NIT Season Tip-Off Semifinals at Madison Square Garden. Otherwise, the Panthers will be assigned to one of four consolation sites, with those destinations determined following the conclusion of first and second round play. UWM has played in the NIT's preseason event once before, falling at Memphis in 2005. The Panthers have also played in the postseason NIT once, beating Rice before losing at Boise State in 2004.

• Busting A Bracket ... Again
UWM will be a part of the BracketBusters pool in 2010, and once again the Panthers will get to play the late February contest at home. The two-day event - set for Feb. 19-20 - will feature 11 nationally televised contests on either ESPN2 or ESPNU. All 10 Horizon League schools are part of the group of 98 teams in the event. The 11 televised BracketBusters matchups will be announced Feb. 1, with game time and network assignments announced Feb. 18. The 76 teams not selected for television also will compete against each other through the same two days. UWM has participated in all seven previous BracketBusters events, appearing on national television five of those years.

• Check Your Schedules
UWM has made some time announcements and changes on its 2009-10 men's basketball schedule since it was first announced. Most notably, the Jan. 9 contest between the Panthers and in-state rival Green Bay will tipoff at 1 p.m. at the U.S. Cellular Arena. The game time was previously listed as to be announced. The Panthers' Jan. 24 game at Cleveland State has been set for a 2 p.m. EST/1 p.m. CST tipoff, with two other changes also involving road contests. UWM's game at Detroit Feb. 13 moves up by one hour to 3 p.m. EST/2 p.m. CST. And, Milwaukee's season-ending contest at UIC will now tip off at 1 p.m. CST.

• Summing Up Last Season
The 2008-09 campaign for UWM saw a number of new faces emerge while the Panthers tallied 11 league victories and 17 overall wins. November was highlighted by a 24-point comeback against Cal Davis on the opening weekend of the season while December included three league victories and an impressive win over Bradley. In January, Milwaukee overcame a rough road trip to Indiana to finish the month with seven more wins. Then in February, the Panthers claimed a home win over nationally-ranked Butler. UWM wound up advancing to the second round of the Horizon League Tournament, but was done in by 12 three-pointers from Wright State in an 80-70 season-ending defeat.

• All About The Awards
UWM's Tone Boyle and James Eayrs were each honored in the Horizon League's postseason awards following last season. Boyle earned a spot on the All-Horizon League Second Team, with both he and Eayrs capturing spots on the all-newcomer team. UWM players also were honored when a pair of local publications released their annual postseason awards last year. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel named Tone Boyle as the state's newcomer of the year as part of its all-state team. Meanwhile, Inside Wisconsin Sports placed both Boyle and Avery Smith on its all-state second team while giving James Eayrs all-state honorable mention recognition.

• Senior Salute
UWM has lost a pair of seniors from the 2008-09 season. After sitting out the 2007-08 campaign, Avery Smith returned to start 25 games last season, finishing second on the team in scoring. He had 14 double-figure outings last year and 40 total in his career. Included in that total are 14, 20-point outings. He finished his collegiate career with 958 points, 333 rebounds and 107 steals. Deion James played in 59 games at UWM over the last two seasons after transferring from the University of Tulsa. He posted 13 double-figure games, including a 20-point performance in a win at Valparaiso in 2007-08. Last season, James had the memorable game-winning three-pointer against UIC Jan. 31.

• Changing Leaders
Throughout last season, the Panthers proved to have a wide variety of offensive weapons. In fact, three players wound up averaging in double figures with a fourth at over nine points per game. But, the final run of games last season helped shine a new light on that fact. Tone Boyle and Avery Smith finished the year as UWM's top two scorers, but over the final seven games, the tandem of James Eayrs and Ricky Franklin took the reigns on the offensive end. While Boyle and Smith combined to average 17 points per game in the last seven outings - 7.6 points below their combined season average - Eayrs and Franklin combined to average 29.0 points per game in that span. In fact, over the final eight games of the season, Franklin averaged 14.6 points and 6.0 rebounds per game while shooting 48.8 percent from the floor overall. He also made 25 of his last 51 three-pointers.

• Inside The Numbers
The final 2008-09 stats show some stark differences for the Panthers in true road contests compared to home games. UWM finished 12-3 at home but just 3-10 on the road. UWM averaged 71.7 points per game at home but just 62.1 points per contest on the road. The Panthers' shooting percentage was just under two points better at home (39.6%) than it was on the road (38.1%). Defensively, UWM allowed just 64.6 points per game at home but 71.8 points and 43.4 percent shooting from the floor on the road. Finally, two noteworthy numbers on the individual front - Avery Smith averaged 12.9 points at home but just 9.3 points on the road; and James Eayrs shot 53 free throws in 14 home games but just 15 free throws in 13 true road games.

• Lots Of Threes
UWM was quite effective from three-point range last season. The Panthers made 10 or more three-pointers in a game 10 times a year ago. This came after Milwaukee had reached double figures from beyond the arc just eight times combined over the last two seasons. Earlier in the season, UWM reached double digits in three-pointers made in three-straight games.

• Other Notables
Milwaukee had a school-record 59 total rebounds against Loyola Jan. 28, collecting 34 offensive boards and posting a plus-36 rebounding margin ... UWM had 21 double-figure point outings from its bench last season, including four 20-point efforts ... Milwaukee had four different players record at least one 20-point outing ... the Panthers also had nine different players record at least two double-figure scoring outings last season ... against Green Bay Jan. 9, Milwaukee made all 20 of its free-throw attempts, setting a new league record ... Tone Boyle played every minute of six games last season, including the overtime game with Green Bay Jan. 9 ... Avery Smith also played every minute of that game, while Ricky Franklin played all 40 minutes at UIC ... Boyle and Franklin each earned spots on the all-tournament team at the World Vision Classic, leading UWM to a 2-1 mark in the event.

• Ticket Time
The UWM Athletic Department has put together a wide variety of attractive ways fans can enjoy Panther basketball this season. Full season-ticket package remain on sale, with the package including tickets to all 15 home games plus the first right to purchase any postseason tickets.

New this year is the Hilton Weekender Package, with tickets to four great weekend games available for just $35. The Hilton Weekender Package includes a ticket to the Dec. 5 game with Loyola, the Jan. 16 game against Wright State, the Jan. 31 contest against Butler and the Feb. 20 BracketBuster tilt. Packages in the loge level are just $35, while fans can upgrade to the premium level for $55.

The Verizon Wireless "Half-Price, Full Fun" games will feature all $10 men's tickets available for just $5. Verizon Wireless "Half-Price, Full Fun" games start with the Nov. 4 men's contest against Cardinal Stritch. Other half-price men's games include Nov. 21 against Hillsdale, Jan. 14 against Detroit, Jan. 29 vs. Valparaiso and Feb. 15 against Youngstown State.

For more information or to purchase any of the packages, call the Panther Ticket Office at 414-229-5886. Single-game tickets are available through Ticketmaster.

• Up Next
UWM faces Western Kentucky in the NIT Season Tipoff Monday in Baton Rouge.