Great Panther Comeback

[MCJasperFan]

Great comeback from the Panthers.

Would things have been different with a healthy Page? Maybe. Still a great comeback by the Panthers almost gave us Manhattan fans heart attacks.

Good luck the rest of the way, go and kick some Horizon butt and we'll see you in the Sweet 16 (and next year back in the Bronx too).

[jblawton]

Thanks alot man...we just weren't playing our game. Missing rebounds and shots but we did try in the end. Thanks for the great comment. See you in the NCAA hopefully.

[admin]

WORST STAT OF THE GAME:
Attendance: 4,752

What a joke.

Later,
UWMfreak

[Hack]

UWM said:

WORST STAT OF THE GAME:
Attendance: 4,752

What a joke.

Later,
UWMfreak

In my opinion, the worst stat of the game was:

Chris Hill -- 30 minutes
Kalombo Kadima -- 16 minutes

[johnjaymilwaukee]

Box score: Manhattan 83, Wis.-Milwaukee 76
uwmpanthers.ocsn.com/sports/m-baskbl/stats/022104aaa.html


Panthers' surge impresses Pearl
UWM turns rout into close game[/color]

By DAN MANOYAN
[e-mail]

Posted: Feb. 21, 2004

With its 83-76 loss to Manhattan on "Bracket Buster" Saturday at the U.S. Cellular Arena, UW-Milwaukee has deteriorated from having a bad game to a mini-slump to a three-game losing streak.

But a late rally by the Panthers, which trimmed the Jaspers' once-daunting lead of 21 to a mere three points, had Panthers coach Bruce Pearl believing his team has seen the light at the end of the tunnel. And, no, it's not an oncoming train.

"If we had finished the game the way we started it, I'd be very concerned about how we are playing," Pearl said. "But I think we learned a lot from the way we played those final minutes. It's important for us to see that, and if that doesn't shine the light on the path we need to take for the rest of the season, then I'd be surprised."


DAN MANOYAN's coverage continues at:

www.jsonline.com/sports/coll/feb04/209246.asp

Journal Sentinel Inc.



Panther Comeback Falls Short
Manhattan beats UWM in Bracket Buster contest[/color]

Feb. 21, 2004

MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee nearly overcame a 21-point second half deficit before falling, 83-76, to Manhattan College in ESPN's Bracket Buster Saturday at the U.S. Cellular Arena.

The Panthers (17-9) trailed 60-39 with 12:57 to play and were still down 72-55 with 4:14 left. But UWM went on a 21-7 run over the next three-plus minutes to pull within 79-76 with 33 seconds remaining. Luis Flores then hit two free throws to restore a five-point advantage and UWM did not score on its next possession, ending hopes of a miracle comeback.

Flores led the Jaspers (22-4) with 27 points and was one of four players in double figures for Manhattan. Dylan Page led UWM with 25 points while Ed McCants added 20.


The uwmpanthers.com coverage continues at:

uwmpanthers.ocsn.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/022104aaa.html

University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Men's Basketball



Jaspers take control early, hang on late

By PAUL SUWAN
THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: February 22, 2004)

MILWAUKEE — As Manhattan has piled up win after win over the past few weeks, Bobby Gonzalez has been regularly asked how this year's team compares with last year's.

One of the coach's replies has been that, while the 2003-04 Jaspers might not be as consistent at times, they are more dangerous offensively because of the multiple threats they have and the difficult matchups they pose. And not just in terms of star guard Luis Flores, but on down the line.

"This team has a lot of ways it can hurt you," Gonzalez said.

Manhattan put some of its offensive ability on display yesterday for 4,752 mostly hostile spectators at U.S. Cellular Arena, racing out to a 21-point lead against Wisconsin-Milwaukee and holding off a late rally to escape with a hard-earned 83-76 win.


PAUL SUWAN's coverage continues at:

www.thejournalnews.com/newsroom/022204/c0122jasperscop.html

The Journal News of Westchester County, New York




MEN'S BASKETBALL DEFEATS UW-MILWAUKEE, 83-76, IN BRACKET BUSTER GAME

Milwaukee, WI (February 21, 2004)- In an ESPN Bracket Buster game in front of a national ESPN2 audience, Manhattan defeated UW-Milwaukee, the top team in the Horizon League, 83-76, behind a game-high 27 points from Luis Flores. The Jaspers improve to 21-4 on the season, having already clinched the MAAC Regular Season title and the top seed in the MAAC Tournament with a 15-1 conference record.

The game see-sawed in the early going, until, with the score tied at eight 4:27 into the game, Peter Mulligan sparked a 15-2 Manhattan run with a three pointer, as the Jaspers opened a 23-10 lead with 11:43 left in the half. Manhattan stretched the lead to 18, 38-20, on a Flores three with 7:22 remaining before halftime. The Panthers (17-9) climbed to within nine, 44-35, with four seconds remaining on a Joah Tucker free throw, but the Jaspers pushed the lead back to double-digits at the break at Mulligan nailed a running three pointer as the first half horn sounded to give Manhattan a 12 point, 47-35, lead at the break.

The Jaspers opened the second half with a 13-2 run to take an 21 point lead, 60-39, with 12:57 left, capped by a Flores three in transition. The teams played even over the next eight minutes until, with the score 72-55 with 4:14 left, UW-Milwaukee used a 21-9 run to pull within three, 79-76, with 33 seconds left on a Dylan Page jumper in the lane. However, two Flores free throws with 31 seconds left pushed the lead back to five, and after the Panthers missed two three pointes, Mike Konovelchick capped the win with a dunk at the buzzer.


The GoJaspers.Com coverage continues at:

www.gojaspers.com/article.cfm?doc_id=4239

Manhattan College Athletics

[johnjaymilwaukee]

WHAT'S A JASPER?

The unique nickname of Manhattan College’s athletic teams, the Jaspers, comes from one of the College’s most memorable figures, Brother Jasper of Mary, F.S.C., who served at the College in the late 19th century.
One of the greatest achievements of Brother Jasper was that he brought the then little-known sport of baseball to Manhattan College and became the team’s first coach. Since Brother was also the Prefect of Discipline, he supervised the student fans at Manhattan College baseball games while also directing the team itself.

During one particularly warm and humid day when Manhattan College was playing a semi-pro baseball team called the Metropolitans, Brother Jasper noticed the Manhattan students were becoming restless and edgy as Manhattan came to bat in the seventh inning of a close game. To relieve the tension, Brother Jasper called time-out and told the students to stand up and stretch for a few minutes until the game resumed.

Since the College annually played the New York Giants in the late 1880’s and into the 1890’s at the old Polo Grounds, the Manhattan College practice of the "seventh inning stretch" spread into the major leagues, where it has now become a time-honored custom practiced by millions of fans annually.


From GoJaspers.Com:

www.gojaspers.com/main.cfm?area_id=27

Manhattan College Athletics

[PantherLou]

HackPanther said:

In my opinion, the worst stat of the game was:

Chris Hill -- 30 minutes
Kalombo Kadima -- 16 minutes

Hill looked absolutely OVERWHELMED out there. He simply could not adjust and really, IMO, was the worst player on the court yesterday.

A nice comeback, yes, but I think we can all agree that this team has lost its swagger and is definitely suffering from a lack of confidence. Do we have the ability to win 2 games in the tourney and make it to the NCAA's? Yes. Do I think we will do that? I'm not so sure. I'm not convinced that this team has the toughness to overcome this slide.

I hope I'm wrong....

[beanocook]

I must have been watching a different game. I saw Chris Hill single handedly defeat the usually dangerous Manhattan press.

30 minutes, eight points, six assists, five rebounds, and only two turnovers. Not sure what else you want out of a PG.

Meanwhile Kadima plays 16 minutes, four points, two rebounds, one assist and FOUR turnovers.

Chris Hill has a much higher "upside" at the PG spot than Kadima.

[uwm6thman]

PantherLou said:

Hill looked absolutely OVERWHELMED out there. He simply could not adjust and really, IMO, was the worst player on the court yesterday.

A nice comeback, yes, but I think we can all agree that this team has lost its swagger and is definitely suffering from a lack of confidence. Do we have the ability to win 2 games in the tourney and make it to the NCAA's? Yes. Do I think we will do that? I'm not so sure. I'm not convinced that this team has the toughness to overcome this slide.

I hope I'm wrong....

I'm not sure you are giving Hill enough credit.....I think he has played great lately. He has been breaking press with ease driving to the basket and hitting his free throws! I am really impressed with him lately..... he has been showing a lot of heart on the court and for the most part making good decisions. He knows his place in the offence and he gets a lot out of his minutes.

attendence I think was partly due to a Bucks game at night and a Marquette game at the BC. But it was still pretty lame.

[Hack]

uwm6thman said:

I'm not sure you are giving Hill enough credit.....I think he has played great lately. He has been breaking press with ease driving to the basket and hitting his free throws! I am really impressed with him lately..... he has been showing a lot of heart on the court and for the most part making good decisions. He knows his place in the offence and he gets a lot out of his minutes.

I respectfully disagree. I will admit Hill breaks the press fine. It's what he does and doesn't do after that which concerns me.

When Ed got hot in the second half Saturday, he should've been the first option on offense. Instead Hill struggled to get him the ball when Ed got open.

Plus it still looks like he's out of control at times. You just need to see how many charges are called against him -- one of which cost UWM a chance to win at Youngstown.

Things like this aren't visible when looking at the box score. I'm not saying Kalombo would've done a better job Saturday (he struggled too in his brief time).

I just wish we would've gotten an explanation as to why the lineup change was made ... I was [sarcasm]SHOCKED[/sarcasm] to see that Manoyan didn't address this in his story Sunday.

[Hack]

I don't know how people can be so down about having 4,752 at a 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon game when there's a Marquette game going on across the street.

Perspective people. You don't get 9,000 people on a regular basis to happen overnight. Let's face it (and I have to as well since I have been a critic of the marketing efforts). UWM is going up against several entertainment options in the city, even more than just sports. In other cities with mid-major teams like Carbondale, Green Bay, Dayton, Omaha and Spokane, they don't have as much of a problem with this.

The alumni base UWM has in town is misleading. Sure there are tens of thousands of alumni in the area. But ask yourself this, do they even give a sh*t about basketball? If they don't, why would they bother coming to a game? And if they do like basketball, some likely wouldn't come because they probably didn't go to games when they were in school ... thus having no "connection" with the program, even though they went to UWM.

Plus look at the venue. If this game was played at Klotsche, 4,752 fans would pack the place ... and everyone on here would love it. Since it's played at the Cell, 4,752 doesn't even halfway fill it.

It's going to take time. Be patient. I can remember games at the Cell in 1995 when "Freeway" would yell "What?" at a bad call and it would echo throughout the building. I'm talking 300-400 fans, people ... at the Cell!

What I wouldn't give to have the atmosphere UWM has now when I was in school. Don't get spoiled and enjoy the progress that's being made. You can look back in later years and say you were the start of something good.

If you honestly thought there would be 8,000-9,000 routinely, I have a bridge I want to sell you.

[pnthr97]

I couldn't agree more, Hack. I was there in the "Freeway" days myself and I, too, would love to go back in time and enjoy this atmosphere as a student.

Our more recent fans, and I don't mean any disrespect by that, fail to keep things in perspective. Think about this once, there were 4700 people at the UWM game, about 14000 at the MU game, and about another 7500 people at the car show at the same time. Add the 16000 or so the Bucks drew and you have about over 25000 people downtown in the afternoon for events and over 40000 downtown throughout the day, at least. It's tough for UWM to compete in a market where there are so many options, and I, for one, am not comlaining about those options.

The next step will be to average about 5000 per game next season, with bigger crowds for the UIC, Butler and maybe a high-profile non-conference game. If we could get 7500 or so for those and 4500-5000 for the others, this program is well on its way.

Now if we could onlyl get an on-campus arena...

[PANTHERfan]

The last two posts have definitely put things in perspective. I too was at the games as a student in the mid to late 90's... it was a sorry sight. Even though we only had about 5000 fans Saturday, they were loud and charged up for the game. I only wish the team would have been as energetic in the first 30 minutes of the game. Wins at home on national television will generate interest and get more people out. It's going to take a while but I think things are heading in the right direction.
Let's just hope we can pack the Klotsche as full as can be for Saturday's game. It may be the last time we see Dylan Page play at home (hopefully not) and we have a chance to do something that hasn't been done in 40-plus years... win a league CHAMPIONSHIP outright!!! Hopefully the Panthers carry over that late game surge so we can start the 3-game win streak that'll get us back to the dance!

[PantherEuph]

I must agree that I thought there was nothing wrong with the crowd - a lot more people showed up than I thought would. Plus, they were at least the 2nd most fired up group we've had - the side-fans RAREly stand up - and they did on several occasions.

I disagree with Hill having a bad game. He brought his game to the Jaspers every time he touched the ball, unlike some others, and once again dropped in a significant number of points off of free throws in the second half. We all like to talk about people not making their free throws, but what about Hill's consistancy at the line?

I think Kadima may have had an off game - but the reason was because he wasn't ever in long enough to get into a rhythm. There were some very fast subs in that game - faster than normal, and most players couldn't find their pace.

I think the most dissapointing player was Sanders, who looked absolutely petrified every time he touched the ball. Coming off of some of his better performances this season, he gave the ball up numerous times he was in a position to take a shot I know he can make. And by the way, can someone tell me why some of OUR fans feel the need to heckle Sanders - our own player?

Go Panthers!
Go Band!

[PantherLou]

Please note that I am not suggesting that Kadima would have been better on Saturday. I think he struggled as well.

For whatever reason, our point guard play has gotten worse over the last several games. Both Hill and Kadima have not done a good job of running the offense over this stretch.