Eastern men pay price after Wisconsin coach loses temper

The Wisconsin Badgers aren't accustomed to seeing coach Bo Ryan blow his top in front of a full house.

"It sparked us a little bit," Devin Harris said of Ryan's technical in the first half of Wisconsin's 81-55 rout of Eastern Washington on Friday night in the opening round of the NABC Basketball Classic.

"We wanted to pick things up a bit after Coach got that technical," Harris said. "We wanted to go into the half with a good run, hopefully put us in place to put them away in the second half."

That's exactly what happened.

"We kind of held together for the first 15 minutes of that first half," Eagles coach Ray Giacoletti said. "Wisconsin is a good team. They're going to make a run, and we kind of self-destructed."

Kirk Penney scored 25 points and led four Badgers in double figures as Wisconsin overcame a slow start to cruise to an easy victory in its opener.

Penney added seven rebounds and was 5 of 6 from 3-point range for the Badgers (1-0), who will face Northern Illinois (1-0) in the NABC Classic championship tonight at the Kohl Center.

Eastern Washington (0-1) will play Winthrop in the consolation game.

Harris added 14 points, Freddie Owens had 13 and Mike Wilkinson had 10 points and seven boards for Wisconsin, which unveiled its 2002 Big Ten championship banner, its first since 1947, before the game to the cheers of 16,374.

Although Penney is their lone senior, the Badgers return five of their top seven players from a year ago.

Expectations are high for the Badgers after their stunning stretch run last season that gave them a share of the Big Ten title and got them to the second round of the NCAA tournament in Ryan's first year as coach.

But the Badgers started out slowly Friday night, and Ryan was whistled for his first technical foul since arriving at Wisconsin.

"You don't get any bonuses at the end of the year for technicals, so it's not really something you're looking for," Ryan said.

But he did get results.

After his technical, his team closed the half on a 19-8 run to take a 34-25 halftime lead behind 10 points from Penney and eight each from Wilkinson and Harris.

The Badgers opened the second half with two quick baskets to force a timeout, but the game wasn't competitive after that.

Harris gave the Badgers a 58-33 lead with a dunk that capped a 14- 2 run and Penney scored eight straight points for a 70-44 lead a the 5:46 mark.

The blowout allowed Ryan to play all his players, and no reserve was more impressive than Alando Tucker, who displayed his incredible vertical leap on a dunk late in the game.

"I think Wisconsin is extremely well-coached," Giacoletti said. "With the young kids, it really gives them a different look, being incredibly athletic but at the same time what you think of a Big Ten team with the strong bodies down low."

Giacoletti was especially impressed with Harris, who took over for point guard Travon Davis, who used up his eligibility.

"I think Harris does a great job at the point. The first night, I would think they would have to be pleased with his play at the point," Giacoletti said.

The Badgers sank 23-of-27 free throws.

Eastern Washington, the preseason favorite to win the Big Sky Conference, was led by Alvin Snow's 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting.

The game was played with experimental rules that featured a longer 3-point arc and a wider 3-second lane.

That didn't bother Penney, who is used to the longer arc in international play. He led New Zealand to a surprising fourth-place finish in the World Championships last summer.

And Penney wasn't too worried about the Badgers' slow start, either.

"I think the intensity was high out there," he said. "Everyone was just trying to execute their offense. Everyone knows it's the first game of the year for both teams. We're just trying to execute. Sometimes, it just wasn't there and there are things we can improve on.

"But that's how it goes at the start of all games."

Wisconsin 81, E. Washington 55

E. Washington (0-1)-Hester 2-5 2-2 6, Williams 0-3 0-0 0, Axton 1- 4 2-2 5, Merritt 2-8 4-4 9, Snow 9-15 2-4 20, Hull 0-0 0-0 0, Hunt 0- 0 0-0 0, Pariseau 1-2 0-0 2, McCulloch 0-0 0-0 0, Browne 1-2 1-3 4, Smith 4-7 1-2 9. Totals 20-46 12-17 55.

Wisconsin (1-0)-Penney 7-14 6-6 25, Wilkinson 3-6 4-6 10, Mader 1- 2 0-0 2, Owens 4-12 5-5 13, Harris 5-10 4-4 14, Ukawuba 0-0 0-0 0, Nixon 0-0 0-0 0, Chappell 0-0 0-0 0, Emerson 0-1 0-0 0, Wade 1-3 2-2 5, Hanson 2-4 1-1 5, Helmigk 1-2 0-1 2, Buchanan 0-0 0-0 0, Tucker 2- 3 1-2 5. Totals 26-57 23-27 81.

Halftime-Wisconsin 34, E.Washington 25. 3-Point goals-E. Washington 3-11 (Browne 1-2, Merritt 1-4, Axton 1-4, Hull 0-1), Wisconsin 6-12 (Penney 5-6, Wade 1-1, Emerson 0-1, Hanson 0-2, Harris 0-2). Fouled out-Browne. Rebounds-E. Washington 28 (Hester 7), Wisconsin 36 (Penney, Wilkinson 7). Assists-E. Washington 8 (Hester, Snow, Pariseau 2), Wisconsin 9 (Harris 3). Total fouls-E. Washington 25, Wisconsin 19. A-16,374.

Copyright 2002 Cowles Publishing Company
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.