Weekend Postgame Report - Milwaukee @ Detroit/Wright State

Game #26 – Detroit 58, Milwaukee 57

Game #27 – Wright State 70, Milwaukee 46

Detroit Recap and Stats

Wright State Recap and Stats

Player Of The Weekend: Tony Meier seemed to find his shooting touch a bit over the two games. He scored 17 points and made three 3-pointers against Detroit Friday and then added 10 more points Sunday. He has made five of his last nine from three-point range.

Key Stat: UWM’s offense never really sorted things out over the weekend. Friday it was the 25 turnovers that stunted the Panther attack. Then Sunday UWM shot just 31.8 percent from the floor.

News and Notes: UWM has now been swept on its last two Horizon League weekend road trips after avoiding a sweep on all four such trips last season … the Panthers are 5-9 on the road this season … Milwaukee had won three-straight in Detroit … UWM has not won at Wright State since the 2004-05 season … Milwaukee’s 25 turnovers against Detroit marked a season high … Wright State shot above 50 percent for the first time this season in Sunday’s win over Milwaukee … Shaquille Boga’s 10 points Sunday marked a collegiate-high.

Up Next: UWM plays a pair of home games this weekend. The Panthers face Cleveland State Tuesday night and then host Fairfield Saturday afternoon.

Postgame Report - Milwaukee at Green Bay

Game #25 – Milwaukee 81, Green Bay 75

Full Recap and Stats

Player Of The Game: Paris Gulley has had some very good games for the Panthers and he picked a very good time to have another one. Saturday he made six of his seven three-point attempts and wound up scoring 20 points in leading the Panthers to a key road win.

Key Stat: Yes, Milwaukee made 12-of-23 from beyond the arc and that was clearly a key. But, perhaps more importantly in a close game, UWM converted on 15-of-18 from the foul line – a marked improvement from the 58 percent clip the Panthers entered the game at.

News and Notes: Gulley’s 20 points marked his second-highest output of the season. He had 26 against Detroit three weeks ago … he also hit six 3-pointers in that game … UWM is now 10-3 in games in which Gulley hits a three-pointer and 6-2 when he reaches double figures … Kaylon Williams had eight assists in the win and Milwaukee is now 10-2 when he has at least seven assists … UWM’s 12 three-pointers are tied for the third-most in a game this season by Milwaukee. The Panthers had 15 against Nebraska-Omaha, 14 against Detroit and 12 at Arkansas-Little Rock … this was the sixth-straight game where the Panthers reached double figures in offensive rebounds … Milwaukee had six players score at least eight points … the Panthers have won 11 of their last 17 regular season Horizon League road games … UWM won in Green Bay for the first time since the 2007-08 season.

Up Next: UWM heads to the road again next weekend, playing at Detroit Friday and Wright State Sunday.

Former UWM Baseball Player Inducted Into Hall of Fame

Mike Casper, who played baseball at Milwaukee from 1995-98, was recently inducted into the Wisconsin State Baseball League Hall of Fame. Casper made 41 starts in 49 career games at UWM, going 16-17 with an ERA of 4.27. He struck out 165 batters in 249.0 innings as a Panther.

Special thanks to Denny Moyer for providing the story.

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Casper Joins WSL Hall of Fame

Former Sheboygan A’s pitcher Michael Casper, who finished with a career 41-22 record in league play, was inducted into the Wisconsin State Baseball League Saturday night at the league’s Annual Awards and Hall of Fame dinner at The Bull in Sheboygan Falls.

In presenting Casper, Dave Moyer, who managed him in the pitcher’s young formative years cited his consistency and dedication to his team.

“He was so consistent with his composure, hidden desire to destroy his opponent, commitment to his team, love of the game, unbelievable control, dominant slider and superb change up, that his consistency became deceptive,” Moyer said. “He became spectacular at appearing unspectacular.”

“I remember coming back to watch him pitch later in his career. He was so on top of his game in those years in the late 1990s and early 2000s that it was a routine matter of business for him to precisely and surgically demoralize an opponent,” Moyer said.

Casper played his high school ball at New Holstein and then went on to UW-Milwaukee before signing with the Kansas City Royals.

In his 10 years in the State League, he won the Most Valuable Pitcher Award three times. His 3.23 career earned run average ranks third among pitchers with 500 or more innings pitched. He shares a one-season record with 11 complete games. And his 10 wins in 1999 is second all time. He ranks seventh in career shutouts, strikeouts and wins. He led the league in innings pitched and in strikeouts in 1999, 2000 and 2001

Michael helped the A’s to championships in 1997 and 2000 and was a first team all-league pick in 1997, ’99, ’00 and ’01.

Inducted with Casper at the dinner were Dave Christman of the Green Bay Blue Ribbons, Tom Imhoff of the Janesville Aces, Paul O’Callaghan of the Lombard Orioles and Dr. Tom Zoch of the Marshfield Chaparrals.

Presented with the league’s individual honors for the 2011 season were Jeff Vukovich of the champion Lombard Orioles, who was named Manager of the Year, Pitcher of the Year Randy Johnson of the Kenosha Kings, Rookie of the Year Brock Guetzke of the Oshkosh Giants and Most Valuable Player and Leading Hitter Nolan Fadness of the Eau Claire Cavaliers.

Weekend Postgame Report - Milwaukee vs. Butler/Valparaiso

Game #22 – Milwaukee 53, Butler 42

Game #23 – Valparaiso 55, Milwaukee 52

Butler Full Recap and Stats

Valpo Full Recap and Stats

Player Of The Weekend: James Haarsma is continuing his consistent offensive play. In two low-scoring games, he averaged 11 points per contest and made 10 of his 17 shots from the floor.

Key Stat: Defense was the story of the weekend, but unfortunately it turned more against Milwaukee in the second game of the set. Thursday, UWM allowed Butler to score just 21 points over the final 28 minutes of the game. Saturday, Valpo gave Milwaukee just 11 points over the final 17 minutes.

News and Notes: Milwaukee’s loss Saturday was just its second in 12 home games … UWM has beaten Butler in three of the last five meetings between the two teams … Butler shot just 28 percent from the floor Thursday night, the second league opponent to shoot below 30 percent against Milwaukee … the Panthers also have now held 11 opponents under 60 points and five opponents under 50 … Milwaukee has won five games this season when scoring less than 60 points … Kaylon Williams now has 320 career assists … James Haarsma has reached double-figures in seven-straight games and nine of his last 10 outings … Tony Meier returned to the starting lineup against Butler and then started vs. Valpo. He averaged 10 points and 7.5 rebounds in the two games.

Up Next: UWM wraps up its three-game homestand with a Tuesday night contest against Youngstown State.

Postgame Report: Milwaukee at Valparaiso

Game #18 – Milwaukee 55, Valparaiso 47

Full Recap and Stats


Player Of The Game: The Panthers once again had four players in double-figures, but Angela Rodriguez saved her best for late in the game. She had 12 points, but none bigger than the three she hit to give UWM back momentum late in the game when Valparaiso had cut the lead to just five points with about 4 minutes remaining. Valpo again was back within seven at the 2:25 mark when Rodriguez grabbed an offensive rebound and made the putback.

She joined Scott Warras on the radio following the contest, hear that interview HERE.

Play of the Game: Rodriguez's three was important, and was part of the key set of plays that put the victory away. After her 3 gave UWM an 8-point lead, Sami Tucker stole the inbounds pass and found Kiki Wilson for another three - all in the span of 10 seconds on the clock. That gave Milwaukee its largest lead of the game at 11.

Key Stats: The Panthers went a perfect 10-10 at the free throw line, the first time this season they were 100 percent and the first time they accomplished that feat since Feb. 24 of last season, when they went 17-17 against Butler. In addition, UWM held the Crusaders to 36.4 percent shooting on the night and forced 21 turnovers. The 47 points allowed was the fewest for the Panthers since allowing 39 to Youngstown State March 6, 2010.

News and Notes: Courtney Lindfors became the third player to record her 500th career points this season when she finished with 14 to give her 500 on the head. She joins Sami Tucker and Angela Rodriguez in that group this campaign.

Up Next: UWM closes out January with a trip to Indy to take on Butler. Tip off is set for 1 p.m. CST Saturday.

Traci Edwards Still Enjoying Life as a Professional

Traci Edwards, who played at Milwaukee from 2005-09, was recently profiled by Andy Thompson of the Appleton Post Crescent. Traci is still enjoying life as a professional basketball player, now with a team in Lulea, Sweden.

Read the article HERE.

Postgame Report - Milwaukee at Youngstown/Cleveland

Game #20 – Youngstown State 68, Milwaukee 66

Game #21 – Cleveland State 83, Milwaukee 57

YSU Full Recap and Stats

CSU Full Recap and Stats

Player Of The Weekend: James Haarsma put together a pair of solid games this weekend. He had 14 points at Youngstown State and then led the way with 15 points at Cleveland State. Haarsma also averaged six rebounds per game and shot nearly 53 percent from the field.

Key Stat: The Panthers entered the weekend as the best three-point defensive team in the country. But, both of UWM’s opponents found the range this weekend. In fact, Youngstown State and Cleveland State combined to go 16-of-32 from three-point range.

News and Notes: The Panthers have now dropped four-straight games on the road since winning at Valparaiso … Paris Gulley reached double figures Friday at Youngstown State before adding nine points Sunday. He has been in double digits in four of his last six games … Friday’s loss at Youngstown State marked just the second time this season UWM lost when the game was decided by five points or less. The Panthers are 5-2 in those close contests this season … Cleveland State shot 63.5 percent against the Panthers Sunday, the best by a UWM opponent since the Vikings shot 63.8 percent at the U.S. Cellular Arena last season … Demetrius Harris saw some of his most extended playing time of the season Sunday, scoring seven points in 11 minutes … Evan Richard missed his third-straight game with a bad back, joining Ja’Rob McCallum and Lonnie Boga on the sidelines.

Up Next: UWM is back home for its next three games, starting with a Thursday night contest against Butler.