Cleveland St. coming into the U.S. Cellular Arena 7-1 in conference, good for first in the Horizon leagu,e isn’t something most Panther fans are used to seeing. Coming in to the Saturday nights game the Vikings had not won in their last seven trips to Milwaukee. The Panthers came in winners in eight of their last nine, including big wins on the road at Valparaiso and Green Bay.

CSU took an early 4-0 lead, but when junior guard Rickey Franklin tied the game at eight on a fast-break layup, and minutes later junior Deion James gave the Panthers a 10-8 lead, they would not relinquish. The Panthers defense looked tough not allowing the Vikings a basket for a six minute stretch in the first half.

During the first half senior Paige Paulsen struggled to get going so it took a balanced Panther attack, going on a 9-2 run to end the half putting the Panthers up 32-21. Right out of the break the first place Vikings looked to get back into the game with some inspired play from junior Chris Moore. Vikings head coach Gary Waters looked to establish a post presence with Moore in an attempt to take control of the game.

The Vikings tied the game up at 36 with 14:56 to go, but the Panther defense tightened up and head coach Rob Jeter had his offense in full swing. Although Paulsen had a quiet night it seemed as though every time the Panthers needed a big shot or a key stop Paulsen was there. With 9:39 to go and the Panthers only up two Paulsen sunk a three to put Milwaukee up five. Just seconds later it was Paulsen answering a Viking free throw as he drove to the rack for two.

From that point on senior Marcus Skinner led the way with his second consecutive double-double finishing with 15 points and 10 rebounds, six of them offensive. With 5:27 to go in the game and the Panthers clinging to a 54-52 lead Skinner took over. Grabbing five rebounds and six points in just a two minute span Skinner sealed the game for the Panthers with just over three minutes to go.

“It’s fun to bounce around down there and get physical” Skinner joked as he explained his gutsy performance.

From the end of Skinner’s run to the final buzzer the game was more of a free throw drill for the Panthers as Franklin connected on six free throw shots adding to his game-high 18 points. Paulsen also had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds as the Panthers cruised to a 79-71 win. The win puts the Panthers one game out of first place in the Horizon at 7-3 in conference play. Next up for Milwaukee will be two road games against Detroit on Thursday and Wright St the following Saturday.

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