New Year's Eve State Sports Briefs: Bucks fall flat against Pistons

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DETROIT - After a big emotional win over Miami on Saturday night, the Milwaukee Bucks fell flat last night and lost at Detroit 96-94.

The Bucks trailed 13-to-nothing early, and they were down by 10 at the half. Milwaukee finally got a run going in the fourth quarter, and they tied the game at 92 with 1:43 left. It was tied at 94 when Tayshawn Prince made two free throws with 10-point-nine seconds left. Monta Ellis had a chance to send the game to overtime, but he missed an 18-foot jump shot in the closing seconds. Ellis led all scorers with 30 points, and Ersan Ilyasova had 24. Prince had 20 points. Greg Monroe had a double-double for Detroit with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Former Buck Charlie Villanueva had 11 – the fourth straight game he has scored in double figures. Detroit out-rebounded the Bucks 48-to-33. The Pistons shot a blistering 57-percent for the first half – but for the game, they only outshot the Bucks 48-to-47 percent. The Pistons have now won four of their last five contests. The Bucks blew a chance to regain sole possession of first place in the NBA’s Central Division – and they’re now 2-6 in the second games on back-to-back nights. Milwaukee is now 16-13, and will host San Antonio on Wednesday night.

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The UW-Green Bay women’s basketball team won its final non-conference road game yesterday, 63-42 at Wichita State. The Phoenix were up by seven at the break, and they opened the second-half with a 12-to-5 run. Green Bay shot 78-percent in the second half, while holding Wichita State to just seven points in the final 10 minutes. The Shockers hit just 30-percent for the day, as Green Bay held an opponent to under 50 points for the eighth time in its 11 games. Jessica Diamond led Wichita State with 15 points. But she also committed five of the Shockers' 18 turnovers, as Wichita State fell to 6-6. Sarah Eichler had 15 for UW-Green Bay, which improved to 9-2. The Phoenix will host Saint Bonaventure on Saturday.

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The UW-Green Bay men have won three straight games, after crushing the University of Illinois-Springfield at home yesterday 84-43. The Phoenix had a 20-0 run in the first half, to go up by 34 at the break. Junior college transfer Sultan Muhammad hit his first five three-point attempts, and he led Green Bay with a season-high 21 points. The Phoenix shot a blistering 59-percent, making 32-of-54 shots from the floor. They also made 8-of-14 from three-point range. Illinois-Springfield made just 26-percent -- the lowest for any Green Bay opponent since Idaho made 23-percent in November of 2000. Regan Bruenger and Dusko Despot each scored 11 for Illinois-Springfield, which fell to 2-7. Green Bay is now 6-7, and will open its Horizon League schedule on Thursday night at Wright State.

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The U.S. men’s hockey team is 1-2 at the World Junior Championships, after losing to Canada yesterday 2-1 in Russia. Milwaukee native Alex Galchenyuk assisted on the Americans’ only goal. He now has one goal and four assists, and his five points are tied for the third-highest in the tournament. Badger defenseman Jake McCabe was penalized for misconduct and a check-to-the-head. The Americans are closing out the preliminary round today with a game against Slovakia.

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The University of Wisconsin wrestling team finished 12th among 48 schools at the Midlands Championships in Evanston, Illinois. The Badgers got third-place finishes from Tyler Graff at 133 pounds, Isaac Jordan at 157, and Connor Medbery at heavyweight. UW-Parkside tied for 37th – the second-highest among the Division II schools at the event.

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Four small college basketball teams from Wisconsin have games on this New Year’s Eve. The fifth-ranked UW-Stevens Point men will play Concordia of Texas in a holiday tournament at Belton Texas. That game was scheduled to begin at noon. Tonight, UW-Superior travels to nearby Duluth to play Saint Scholastica. In women’s basketball, two afternoon contests are on tap. UW-Eau Claire plays at Capital, and Saint Norbert hosts Loras College.

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The Milwaukee Wave will play a Major Indoor Soccer League game at home this afternoon against Wichita. Milwaukee has a six-game winning streak with a record of 7-2. The Wave is now just one game behind first-place Baltimore in the MISL standings. Luan Oliveira is Milwaukee’s leading scorer with 24 points. He had three goals and two assists last Thursday night in a Milwaukee victory at Rochester. Wichita is coming off an eight-point victory on Saturday night over Chicago. Freddy Moojen had four goals in that contest. Today’s match begins at two o’clock at the U.S. Cellular Arena.

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SCORES

In men’s college basketball…

Saint Norbert 66, UW-Whitewater 55

UW-Stout 62, Concordia-Mequon 42

UW-La Crosse 68, Hardin-Simmons 55

UW-Oshkosh 73, Loras 72 in overtime

Carroll 83, Cornell 65

Lakeland 74, Macalester 61

Marian 71, Northwestern College 69

Carthage 79, Benedictine 60

Wisconsin Lutheran 78, Linfield 73

Luther 93, Northland 42

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In women’s college basketball…

UW-Whitewater 83, Millsaps 70

UW-Superior 55, Alverno 34

Baruch 52, UW-Platteville 41

East Texas Baptist 72, UW-Stout 69

Concordia-Mequon 60, Colorado College 36

Wisconsin Lutheran 76, Whittier 44

Tags: wisconsin sports, proam, sports, bucks