The energy at the U.S. Cellular Arena was nothing short of spectacular as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men’s basketball team defeated the Loyola Ramblers 80-66 in the semifinals of the Horizon League Tournament.

Senior guard Boo Davis set the tone for the Panthers on Saturday, March 4, scoring the team’s first 10 points. The “Big Three” of Davis and seniors Adrian Tigert and Joah Tucker combined for 57 points with Davis leading the way with 20 and 10 rebounds, his first career double-double. Tucker also poured in 20 while Tigert added 17.

The top-seeded Panthers advance into the Horizon League championship game for the fourth year in a row in a showdown against the Butler Bulldogs, who defeated UW-Green Bay in the other semifinal game.

The Panthers will defend their title as Horizon League champions, with an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament on the line.

Tigert returned to the Panthers’ starting lineup after missing the past two games with a nagging back injury. He made his presence known down-low as the Panthers scored 46 points in the paint.

“That was a gutsy performance,” said coach Rob Jeter. “To be off, away from the game, timing is something you worry about and his timing was pretty good coming off the stretch.”

Despite applying a full-court press the entire game, the Panthers had a difficult time keeping Ramblers forward Blake Schlib in check, as he scored 22 points to lead all scorers.

The win puts the Panthers at 20-8 overall, notching the 20-win mark for the fourth straight year. UWM led by as much as 20 points in the second half thanks to Davis’ hustle and hard work. Davis stole an inbound pass underneath the Ramblers’ basket, scored a layup and was fouled, inspiring the Panthers to pull away for good.

The loss ended Loyola’s season but the team still has hopes of being invited to play in the NIT tournament later this month. The Ramblers came into the contest as the fourth seed in the Horizon League Tournament and finished their season at an impressive 19-11 in overall play.

The Panthers’ confidence level is at an all-time high heading into the championship game against Butler and the team has no intentions of turning down its intense style of play.

“I think good teams need to have a lot of confidence,” Tigert said. “The first goal was to win a conference championship, the next one is to win the conference tournament.”

Results of the Tuesday night championship game against Butler were not available at press time.

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